🇲🇹 Maltese Recipes

Traditional Mediterranean Cuisine

Ħobż biż-Żejt (Maltese Tomato and Tuna Sandwich)

Malta's iconic rustic sandwich of crusty bread, kunserva, olive oil, tuna, capers, onion, and tomato.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: No cooking Servings: 2 people
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Watercolour illustration of crusty Maltese sandwiches filled with tuna, tomato, onion and capers.

Ingredients

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Measures: 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml. For local ingredient names and substitutions, see our guide to Maltese ingredients abroad.

Instructions

  1. Prepare the bread: Slice the bread in half and drizzle lightly with olive oil.
  2. Spread kunserva: Spread a thin layer of tomato paste over the cut surfaces. Traditionally, the bread is gently rubbed so the paste soaks in.
  3. Add toppings: Layer tuna flakes, capers, onion slices, fresh tomato, and olives. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, then drizzle with a little more olive oil.
  4. Close and press: Close the sandwich and press gently so the flavours combine. Many people prefer it slightly squashed and juicy.

Ħobż biż-Żejt literally means “bread with oil,” but it is much more than that. It is Malta’s most iconic everyday sandwich: simple, rustic, and packed with Mediterranean flavour.

Ingredient Substitutions Outside Malta

The ftira guide explains the bread choices and offers more sandwich filling combinations.

If Maltese bread is unavailable, choose a crusty loaf or roll with a firm crumb, such as a plain sourdough or ciabatta. Kunserva can be replaced with a thin layer of tomato paste, adjusting seasoning to taste. Cooked broad beans are an optional topping; ful medames refers to cooked beans, not a pickled product. See the ingredient guide for the different tomato products.

How It’s Traditionally Eaten

  • As a beach lunch
  • On boat trips
  • As a quick family dinner
  • Wrapped in paper and left to rest for 10-15 minutes before eating

Traditional Notes & Tips

  • The bread is key: crusty outside and soft inside
  • It should be slightly messy and juicy
  • Every Maltese family has its own variation

Bread with oil, and room for variation

Ħobż biż-Żejt is closely associated with an outdoor summer lunch. Visit Gozo describes a beach-day version with tomato, mint, onion, sheep’s cheese, anchovies, and olive oil.

Our tuna-and-kunserva sandwich is another combination, not a fixed list of compulsory toppings. The bread matters as much as the filling: use a crusty slice that can take the tomato and oil without collapsing, and choose the optional additions to suit the rest of the meal.