Food Safari explores a different take on Mediterranean cooking with the rustic delights of Maltese food. Chef Paul Camilleri of Restaurant Sojourn takes Maeve through the essential ingredients and then cooks a beloved family recipe for the national dish, stuffat tal fenek or rabbit stew. The dish is served as two courses – the rich tomato based sauce it cooks in with pasta, and the tender rabbit with vegetables.

We explore what makes the national snack food pastizzi so delicious with the Hili family at Gato’s Pastizzi who started making the flakey baked pastries in the late 1950s. With rising Melbourne chef Shane Delia, we learn about the national sandwich called hobs biz zeit – raw tomato paste spread on crusty bread and topped with traditional ingredients like anchovies, capers and olive oil.

Chef Louis Bigeni shows how the Maltese have modified recipes from their neighbours, taking pasta to a different level with a rich meat sauce and baked in pastry – its called timpana and no Maltese get together is complete without this deep golden pie.

We learn about the soft ricotta style cheeses (gbejniet) and harder mature cheese loved by the Maltese, and meet Polly Vella, who missed them so much when she came to Australia, she decided to train as a cheese-maker and make them herself. Her daughter Alex, a civil engineer serves a small round of creamy in her classic vegetable-based widow’s soup. Polly then whips up bragioli, also known as beef olives, for lunch and shares her easy recipe.

Finally broadcaster Rita O’Dwyer from the maltese radio program at SBS makes a delcious dessert/sweet snack called puddina – a chocolate bread and butter custard meets panforte.

Featured Businesses

AC Butchery
174 Marion St
Leichhardt NSW 2040
02 9569 8687

Gato's Pastizzi
Shop 4/46-66 The Horsley Dr
Carramar NSW 2163
02 9724 3861

Il Pastaio
42 Gould St
South Strathfield NSW 2136
02 97425056

Maltese Cheese Products
235-255 Lincoln Rd
Horsley Park NSW 2175
02 9620 1465

PR Raineri (Peter's Deli)
97 Great North Rd
Five Dock NSW 2046
02 9713 6886

Restaurant Sojourn
79 Darling St
Balmain East NSW 2041
(02) 9555 9764

The Original Maltese Café
310 Crown St
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
(02) 9361 6942

Traditional Delights
26 Seabrook Crescent
Doonside NSW 2767
(02) 9622 8865