Figolli

Posted by: Bernice, Nolene and M'Lourdes


Like many other countries all over the world, Malta too has special dishes for special occasions. Easter time calls for “Figolli” made from this recipe.

Ingredients:
Vanilla essence
½ lb. margarine
1 lb. self raising flour
3 eggs
½ lb . sugar
milk
juice and grated rind of ½ lemon

Method:
Work the fat well into the flour. Beat the eggs well and mix with sugar, then add the fat and flour. Add other ingredients and work into a dough.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of ½ inch and cut to various shapes and figures. The most commonly used shapes and figures are horses, boats, baskets, fish, men, women, mermaids and a host of others to suit as many tastes as possible. You will need two identical shapes for each figolla.


What ‘figolli’ means to us
The ‘figolli’ reminds us of Easter and especially of Ash Wednesday, that we have to sacrifice a bit from not eating the delicious ‘figolli’ made by our mum. So we have to sacrifice and eat them after Ash Wednesday.

It also reminds us that now God is alive.

Another thing is that when we receive a lot of ‘figolli’ from our families, we do a competition between ourselves that is who eat the ‘figolla’ first wins!