LENT AND EASTER CULINARY TRADITIONS IN COTTONERA AND MALTA
- Warren J Bugeja
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
Written for an audience aged 12-60 for 'Tales of Kottonera' website
As Lent and Easter approach in the harbour towns of Cottonera, the air begins to fill with
familiar smells and flavours that appear only once a year. Confectionery windows display colourful almond pastries, and sticky, fragrant slabs of kwareżimal. Along with the clacking of the ċuqlajta (a wooden instrument, played instead of church bells) and the croaking of the baqqiegħu (a small drum covered with animal skin), you can almost hear the raspy call of the street vendors of old, pushing carts filled with olives and salted fish. These foods are not just treats or penances; they are part of a long story about faith, tradition and family life in Malta.
Among the most loved sweets of the season are figolli. These almond-filled pastries have been part of Maltese Easter celebrations for centuries. Traditionally, they were baked at home and given to children as Easter gifts. The pastry is soft and buttery, filled with sweet almond paste, scented with lemon rind and vanilla essence, and shaped into figures linked with Easter such as lambs, doves, butterflies, rabbits, fish or hearts. Once baked, they are decorated with colourful icing or chocolate and often topped with a small chocolate egg.
Although figolli are now seen everywhere before Easter, their history goes back a long way. The name probably comes from the Italian word figura or figurella, meaning ‘shape.’ In fact, an eighteenth-century Maltese manuscript dessert recipe collection by Michele Mercieca, written in 1748, already includes recipes for figolli. The traditional shapes for these almond goodies were the mermaid, the fish, the basket, and the boat. Different shapes once carried symbolic meanings. The fish and lamb represented Jesus Christ, while the eggs, adopted from earlier pagan rituals, symbolised fertility and renewal. In those days, the pastries were decorated with coloured eggs, placed in the middle. These eggs were dyed using natural colours from onion skins, fruit and vegetables, producing shades of red, yellow, brown or green. Sugar decorations and icing only became common in the early twentieth century, when sugar became cheaper and more widely available. Real eggs were replaced with coloured sugar egg-halves, whilst chocolate eggs only became popular much later, between the two World Wars.
Before Easter arrives, however, comes Lent, forty days of preparation leading up to the celebration of the Resurrection. During this time, food played an important role in religious life. In Catholic teaching, overeating or enjoying too much rich food was considered the sin of gluttony. People believed that learning to control their appetite helped them control other temptations as well. In Christian tradition, temptation itself begins with food: the fruit eaten by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
For this reason, Lent became a season of restraint. Lenten fasting is connected to the 40 days that Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert. According to the Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights while being tempted by the devil. Christians remember this during Lent, which also lasts about forty days (not counting Sundays). During this time, many Christians fast to imitate Jesus’ self-discipline, prepare spiritually for Easter, and practise prayer and self-control. In Maltese, Lent is called Randan, a word believed to come from the Muslim term Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, as a way to focus on faith, discipline, and helping others. In medieval times, the rules were strict. Christians were forbidden, during this period, from eating foods that came from animals: not only meat, but also milk, butter, cheese and eggs. Over time, these rules became a little more flexible, and the calendar was divided into giorni di grasso and giorni di magro, literally “fat days” and “lean days.”
On giorni di grasso, such as Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, people could eat richer foods like meat and dairy. On giorni di magro, which included Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, meals had to be simpler and cooked with olive oil instead of lard or butter. Fish, vegetables and beans replaced meat. Because fish was eaten mainly on these fasting days, it became known as a food of penance rather than pleasure.
In seventeenth-century Malta, these rules were taken very seriously, especially in the harbour cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The Inquisition, whose palace stood in Vittoriosa (Birgu), supervised many aspects of religious life. In 1582, the Inquisitor Federico Cefalotto explained clearly what fasting meant. He wrote that it was forbidden to eat meat or dairy during Lent and on other days set aside by the Church.
Even the Inquisitors themselves tried to follow the rules carefully. Fabio Chigi, who served as Inquisitor in Malta between 1634 and 1639 and later became Pope Alexander VII, once wrote to a relative describing his Lenten meals. He avoided salted meats and instead ate vegetable soups, a little fish, olives, dates, dried figs and other simple foods, accompanied by a sweet orange drink and some wine.
Despite the restrictions, Lent produced its own special cuisine. During these weeks, vendors pushing wooden carts through the streets of villages and towns made their biggest sales. They sold preserved foods that could easily be eaten on lean days: anchovies, tuna, sardines and horse mackerel known as kavalli. There was also salted codfish called bakkaljaw, pickled herrings known as aringi, olives in brine, mixed vegetables preserved in vinegar called ġardiniera, and small pickled onions known as basal tal-pikles.
Spring vegetables were also important ingredients in Lenten cooking. Broad beans,
peas, artichokes, spinach, endive and cauliflower appeared frequently on the table, often accompanied by ricotta or fresh ġbejniet. One dish was baked macaroni made without meat. Instead of the usual meat sauce, it included peas, broad beans and ricotta, flavoured with parsley and nutmeg. Another seasonal favourite is qaqoċċ mimli, stuffed artichokes filled with breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, anchovies (or tuna), capers and olives, slowly steamed with olive oil and vinegar, and served with boiled potatoes. Vegetable soups were common, too. Soppa tal-armla, known as widow’s soup, combined vegetables with poached eggs and fresh cheeslets. Other traditional dishes included kusksu, a comforting soup made with broad beans, small pasta and ġbejna cheese, and minestra, a thick vegetable soup. Sfineġ tar-Randan, small, deep-fried cones of choux pastry often filled with anchovies, also appeared during the season.
Cooks sometimes found creative ways around the rules. The kitchens of the Knights of St John were famous for disguising foods (such as meat to look like fish) to make them appear acceptable during fasting. Frogs, turtles and even seabirds were sometimes eaten with the argument that they lived near water and therefore resembled fish.
Even in Lent, people still enjoyed sweets. One of the most traditional is kwareżimal. The name comes from the Italian word quaresima, meaning Lent, and ultimately from the Latin quadragesima, referring to the forty days of the season. These biscuits were created specially for fasting because they contain no butter, milk or eggs. Instead, they are made from ground almonds, flour, treacle or honey, orange blossom water (Ilma żahar), citrus zest and spices such as cinnamon and cloves. They have a firm but slightly chewy texture and are often topped with honey and chopped nuts.
During the Easter season, a variety of qassatat, known collectively as qassatat tal-Għid, were prepared in both Malta and Gozo. Traditionally, qassatat are baked pastry shells made from wheat and semolina dough, and filled with ricotta, peas or a mixture of spinach and anchovies. During Lent, however, these familiar savoury pastries were sometimes given a sweeter character. In Malta, the ricotta filling was sweetened, and the pastries were finished with a layer of icing, turning them into a festive Lenten treat.
In the town of Xagħra, Gozo, different variations developed. The ricotta was substituted with a fresh mixture of soft sheep’s cheese and often enriched with raisins and/ or strawberries, giving the pastries a slightly sweeter, fruitier taste. Alongside these sweet versions, there were also savoury qassatat filled with ingredients such as broad beans and parsley or just a mixture of fresh and aged ġbejniet.
Another sweet connected with the season is karamelli tal-ħarrub, the only sweets allowed on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows and Good Friday. These are small squares made by boiling carob syrup until it becomes thick and hard. The mixture is poured onto an oiled surface and cut into pieces. They have a strong, slightly tangy flavour with hints of spices like aniseed and cloves. Traditionally,, they were sold by street vendors during Good Friday processions or when people visited the seven churches during Holy Week. Carob syrup is made by roasting carob pods, grinding them and then simmering them in sugar. The syrup is used to soothe coughs and sore throats. Interestingly, the Knights of St John considered sugar (as well as chocolate) a spice, so it was allowed during Lent.
Holy Week itself brought several special foods. On Maundy Thursday, people often ate qagħaq tal-Appostli, a ring-shaped bread known as the Apostles’ bread. It was linked to the ceremony of the washing of the feet, when twelve men representing the apostles were given these bread rings. The bread was made from fine flour and left to rise slowly. In the past, it was flavoured with cumin or anise and sometimes enriched with almonds or honey. The dough was divided into strands, plaited like long hair, then shaped into a ring before baking.
In convents, nuns sometimes prepared sweeter versions dense with nuts and almonds. Families watching the Good Friday processions from balconies overlooking the streets often enjoyed slices of this bread with tea or coffee. Bakers even recited traditional rhymes while waiting for the qagħaq tal-Appostli dough to rise, comparing the swelling bread to Christ rising from the tomb.
Itla’ u fur
Bħal ma Kristu
Tela’ minn ġol-qbur
Itla’ u thenna
U tħallix ’il min jistenna
Itla’ u thenna
Bħal meta Kristu
Tela’ l-Ġenna
Itla’ u rendi
U imla l-lenbi
Itla’ u strieħ
Bħal meta d-dqieq
Ikun ġewwa s-siegħItla’ fil-fxiex
Biex toħroġ bħal tan-nies
Rise and swell,
As Christ
Rose from the tomb.
Rise and grow,
And do not keep
Those who are waiting.
Rise and grow,
As when Christ
Rose to Heaven.
Rise and give,
And fill the cloth.
Rise and rest,
As when the dough
Has had its proper hour.
Rise in the warmth,
So that you come out
As fine as anyone’s/ or so that you can do us proud
Nowadays, the bread rings are more likely to be sprinkled with a few sesame seeds and studded with a few almonds and remain unsweetened. When the British arrived in Malta, they brought with them their own Easter tradition: hot cross buns. Locally, they became known as ħobżiet żgħar b’salib fuqhom, small bread loaves marked with a cross.
Good Friday itself was the most solemn day of the year, and the meals were simple. A common dish was ravioli filled with ricotta or ġbejniet friski (depending on whether they were made in Malta or Gozo) and served with tomato sauce. Boiled snails were also popular, often served with arioli, a mixture made by crushing Maltese water biscuits together with basil, mint, parsley, garlic, capers and anchovy fillets.
In the town of Rabat, to this day, artichoke pie is sold on the Church parvis of St Paul, as
well as Sfineġ tar-Randan, on Good Friday. Many elderly people in this town continue to eat a soup made from soaked, dried fava beans, dried from the previous year, for lunch, almost like a watery bigilla (broad bean dip) into which they dip chunks of crusty Maltese sourdough bread. It comes, therefore, as no surprise that in the ancient world, beans were often associated with the afterlife and reincarnation. According to the ancient Egyptians, the ‘𝓚𝓪’ or souls of the dead awaited reincarnation in ‘the bean field’.
Meanwhile, the 6th-century BC Greek philosopher Pythagoras was murdered by his pursuers because he refused to cross a field of broad beans and trample on the souls of his ancestors, whom he believed were resting in the beanstalks on their way to Hades (the afterlife for the ancients).
Historical records give us fascinating glimpses of what the clergy ate in those days. On 21st Feb 1635, Dies Cinerum (Ash Wednesday), the chaplains of St Paul’s Grotto in Rabat bought chickpeas, fish, and onions for lunch. Just four weeks later, on Maundy Thursday, their shopping list featured snails, artichokes, broccoli and salad for their meal. On Good Friday the following year, the Chaplains purchased spinach, oranges, currants and sardines, together with tarja, a very fine pasta similar to angel hair pasta (capelli d’angelo in Italian). The pasta was cooked in almond milk and served with almonds as dessert.
Nowadays Easter Eggs are more likely to be blessed than Figolli.
After forty days of restraint, Easter Sunday finally arrives. It is a joyful celebration filled with colour, music and food. In many Maltese towns, children bring their figolli to church to be blessed during the Easter procession. In Senglea, this blessing traditionally takes place when the statue of the Risen Christ pauses near the church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, also known as St Philip Neri. Children gather in front, holding their figolli and Easter eggs, while the archpriest blesses them.
The Easter meal itself is the most important family gathering of the holiday. Maltese families traditionally celebrate at lunchtime rather than dinner. The table is filled with baked pasta, vegetables, and roast lamb with potatoes. After weeks of simpler food, the meal feels especially rich and festive. Finally, bowls of trifle or slices of figolla are shared as dessert, children receive chocolate eggs, and the long season of Lent ends in joy. The traditions remind us that even in a time of fasting and discipline, the kitchen remained a place of creativity, community and celebration.
Written with reference to:
‘Eating & Fasting in Medieval & Early Modern Malta’ by Carmel Cassar, Journal Of The Institute Of Tourism Studies Issue 1 April, 2008.
‘Popular Perceptions and Values in Hospitaller Malta’ by Carmel Cassar. In V. Mallia-Milanes (Ed.) Hospitaller Malta: 1530-1798, (pp.429-473). 1993. Malta: Mireva Publications.
‘Storja tal-Kultura ta’ l-ikel f’Malta’ by Kenneth Gambin and Noel Buttigieg, Pin Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza, 2003
‘A History of Food’ by Maguelonee Toussaint-Samat, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
‘Dinner in Malta: In a Series of Vignettes 1530-1930’ by Matty Cremona, Midsea Books, 2021
‘The Way We Ate: memories of Maltese meals’ by Matty Cremona, Midsea Books, 2010. `
‘Learn How to Cook an 18th Century Meringue’ Oh My Malta. Accessed March 2026: https://ohmymalta.com.mt/2021/11/05/learn-how-to-cook-an-18th-century-meringue%EF%BF%BC/
‘Kwareżimal and Lenten Traditions in Malta’. Accessed March: https://www.pilgrimaps.com/kwarezimal-and-lenten-traditions-in-malta/
‘Maltese Food Traditions During Lent and Easter’. Accessed March: https://www.malteserecipes.com/history/lent-and-easter/
‘The Sweet Side of Easter in Malta: Traditional Easter Sweets to Try.’ Accessed March 2026: https://sthotelsmalta.com/the-sweet-side-of-easter-in-malta
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