Background & Story from a Yellow Pages Employee: 

"In the 1950s, my British grandmother moved to Malta, where she chose to reside with her Maltese husband at the time. She would spend the rest of her life living in Malta till she passed away at the age of 92 at the end of 2024. 

She loved Malta, and at the time when she had first moved to Malta, my Nanna wanted to learn how to cook traditional Maltese food for her husband, and eventually for her daughter, who was born in the early 1960s. Nanna got a copy of a recipe book called 'Maltese Dishes' compiled by Ms Carmen Carbonaro in 1958. 

In 2025, as our family went through Nanna's belongings, we found her original 1958 copy of the recipe book and want to share the recipes Nanna cooked throughout her life. To commemorate her commitment to Maltese cuisine, and her appreciation for Maltese culture as a British woman living in Malta. Yellow Pages has always made a valiant effort to write about everything and anything that is Maltese. 

In light of this, we have decided to share the recipes Nanna would cook from this very recipe book, and share authentic Maltese dishes, with traditional ingredients and cooking methodologies. We hope you enjoy this mini-series of articles that will be published.

Dedicated to you, Nanna, may you rest in peace."

Recipes From Nanna's 1950s Maltese Cookbook – Volume I

This series began with a small, worn recipe book.

A 1958 edition of Maltese Dishes, compiled by Carmen Carbonaro, passed down through my Nanna's kitchen. Instead of rewriting or modernising the recipes, we are looking from the book exactly as it was printed, preserving the ingredients, the methods, and the spirit of the time.

Each volume in this series will explore a selection of dishes directly from its pages, not just as recipes, but as cultural snapshots of Malta in the 1950s. The pages featured in this first volume include four dishes that were not occasional luxuries. They were foundations of Maltese home cooking.

And together, they tell us how Malta ate, gathered, and lived.

1. Timpana

Described in the book as "the most popular dish on the Maltese menu," Timpana is layered, generous, and deliberate. The 1958 version includes thick round macaroni, minced meat, liver, lard, rikotta, hard boiled eggs and puff pastry. Nothing is removed for convenience. Nothing is softened for modern tastes.

The inclusion of liver reflects a time when nothing was wasted. Lard instead of olive oil reflects what was common in Maltese households in the mid-20th century. The insistence on a specific pasta shape shows how tradition carried authority. Timpana was not simply a baked pasta dish. It was a centrepiece. It meant everyone was home.

2. Aljotta (Fish Soup)

Aljotta represents coastal Malta. The recipe calls for local fish such as smar, bogue, gurnard or skate, combined with parsley, mint, tomato, oil, and lemon. It is simple, direct, and rooted in what was freshly available. One detail stands out; after the soup is prepared, the fish may be served whole as a second dish. This reflects something practical and very Maltese. One pot. No waste. Maximum use.

3. Stuffed Chicken (Tiġieġa Mimlija)

The chicken is boiled first, then baked. It is stuffed with minced meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, chopped liver, grated cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. It is methodical and layered. Stuffed chicken was placed at the centre of the table. It symbolised hospitality and celebration. It was not rushed. The technique itself reflects older cooking traditions that valued time and patience.

4. Stuffed Marrow (Qara Bagħli Mimli)

This dish highlights seasonality. Marrow, minced meat, tomato paste, egg, grated cheese, and semolina are combined and baked with potatoes. Vegetables were not secondary. They were substantial. It reflects a Malta where cooking followed what was grown locally, and meals were built around what was available.

More Than Recipes

Looking at these pages together, a pattern emerges:

• Meals were designed to feed many.
• Ingredients were used fully.
• Seasonality mattered.
• Technique was respected.

This Maltese cookbook was published just over a decade after World War II, at a time when Malta was still rebuilding. Food reflected resilience, practicality, and community.

For my Nanna, this book was more than a collection of instructions. It was a way to learn, to adapt, and to belong. Through these recipes, a British woman made Malta her home. Through this series, we are revisiting those same pages, preserving them as they were written, and sharing them again with a new generation.

What to Expect from Volume II 

In Volume II, we will take one of these dishes and recreate it exactly as described in the 1958 edition, step by step.

Because sometimes the best way to honour tradition is simply not to change it.

About Matthew Gollcher

Hi, I'm Matthew, an SEO Specialist and Content Writer at Yellow Pages Malta. I'm passionate about creating meaningful content and exploring AI's creative possibilities. When I'm not working, I enjoy the gym, time with friends, watching series and reading, and playing guitar. I'm always eager to learn and grow both personally and professionally.