Maltese Fruit Pie Recipe

Imqaret

Warning: This unique fruit pie recipe produces tiny diamond shaped envelopes that are highly addictive :)

Imqaret were traditionally eaten mainly during the village festa.

They have since become one of the most popular snacks on the Maltese islands.

Like pastizzi, these delightful date filled pies are not for the health conscious because these delicious diamond shaped fruit pies are deep fried! If you want to reduce the amount of calories, you can always bake them instead.

On the Maltese islands, you can find imqaret being sold at the village or town’s festa, and at tiny “hole in the wall” take-aways. You can also see them being sold from street stalls especially at the entrance of Valletta, the capital of Malta. You’ll know that there’s imqaret close by from their lovely smell.

There are many date recipes around, but this easy pie recipe is sure to get you addicted to imqaret in no time :)

Imqaret Recipe (Date-filled pies)

Ingredients

450 grms (or 15.87 oz) flour

110 grms (or 3.88 oz) margarine

1 tablespoon sugar

A few drops of aniseed liqueur

A few drops of orange-blossom water

For the filling

360 grms (or 12.69 oz) stoned dates (chopped)

Shredded tangerine and lemon or orange peel

A pinch of ground cloves

1 tablespoon aniseed liqueur

1 tablespoon orange-blossom water

Method

Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Cut the margarine into small pieces and rub into the flour. Add the sugar and blend well. Moisten with the aniseed liqueur and orange-blossom water. Allow to stand for some 30 minutes.

Filling the pies

Place all the ingredients of the filling into a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. Allow to simmer until the whole mixture becomes creamy.

How to make the Imqaret

Roll out the pastry into a 10cm wide strip over a floured surface. Moisten the edges of the pastry and put the date mixture down the middle of the long strip of pastry, fold over to enclose the date filling. Press the edges together tightly. With a sharp knife, cut diagonally across the pastry into 5 cms long diamond-shaped little pies.

The imqaret are now ready for frying. Deep fry them in boiling oil until golden brown. Drain thoroughly from the oil and serve hot.

We hope you enjoyed this yummy Maltese fruit pie recipe. Try it out and let us know how you like it!

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