Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki)
An autumn fish pie of lampuki baked in pastry with spinach, cauliflower, olives, capers, and pine nuts in a rich tomato filling.
Maltese · medium · serves 6
prep 40 min · cook 50 min
~133 cal · 5g protein · 9g carbs · 10g fat · 3g fiber · 3g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Torta tal-lampuki is Malta's great autumn dish, made only when the lampuki, the dolphinfish or mahi-mahi, run in the waters around the islands from late summer into November. When the fishing boats come in laden, Maltese kitchens turn the catch into this savoury pie, a celebration of the season and of the island's deep fishing heritage.
The filling is a Mediterranean tumble: chunks of lampuki folded into softened onion and tomato with spinach, cauliflower, and peas, sharpened with green olives and capers, enriched with pine nuts, and lifted with mint and marjoram. Some families add a handful of sultanas for a Sicilian note of sweetness. All of it goes between two sheets of pastry and bakes until the crust is golden and crisp.
Better still the next day and good warm or cold, lampuki pie travels to autumn picnics and family Sundays alike. It is a dish that measures the Maltese year by the fish in the sea, and one that islanders wait all summer to make.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1.5 lbs lampuki (dolphinfish or mahi-mahi) fillets, in chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
7 oz spinach, chopped
1.5 cups cauliflower, in small florets and
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup green olives, sliced
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp each fresh parsley and mint, chopped
1 lb shortcrust pastry (2 sheets)
1 egg, beaten (to glaze)
to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
1
Season the lampuki chunks with salt and pepper and set aside while you build the filling.
2
Soften the onion in the olive oil, add the garlic, then stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer about 10 minutes until thickened.
3
Wilt in the spinach, then stir through the cauliflower, peas, olives, capers, pine nuts, and herbs, and season well. Fold in the fish and cook just 3 to 4 minutes so it barely sets, then cool slightly.
✎ Chef’s note
Only half-cook the lampuki now; it finishes in the oven, and overcooking it here leaves the fish dry once baked.
4
Line a pie dish with one sheet of pastry, fill with the fish mixture spread evenly, and cover with the second sheet, sealing and trimming the edges.
5
Brush the top with beaten egg (or plant milk), prick a few steam holes, and bake at 350F (180C) for 40 to 50 minutes until golden and crisp.
6
Rest the pie at least 15 minutes so the filling sets before slicing, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Maltese autumn fishing tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Valletta. A fenkata is the occasion rather than the dish. Rabbit is cooked long in wine and garlic and comes in two courses, the sauce first tossed through pasta and the rabbit itself after. Pastizzi, the diamond-shaped pastries sold from hatches in the wall, are filled with ricotta or mushy peas, never meat.
🗺️
Malta. The fenkata is the occasion rather than the recipe: rabbit stewed slowly in wine and garlic, traditionally served in two courses, the sauce over pasta first and the meat afterwards, and eaten in company that stretches across an afternoon. One account links its rise to the lifting of hunting restrictions after the Knights left in the late eighteenth century, which is a theory worth attributing rather than stating.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Malta
Timpana (Baked Macaroni Pie)Tubular pasta in a rich meat-and-tomato sauce, bound with egg and cheese and baked inside a pastry case until golden, then cut into slabs.
Stuffat tal-Fenek (Rabbit Stew)Malta’s national dish: slow-braised rabbit in red wine, tomato, and bay, the centerpiece of a village fenkata feast.
PastizziDiamond-shaped flaky pastries filled with ricotta or mushy peas, Malta's favorite savory bite.
Browse all Malta recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Steamer.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
Make it a Malta meal
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FtiraLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki)?
An autumn fish pie of lampuki baked in pastry with spinach, cauliflower, olives, capers, and pine nuts in a rich tomato filling.
Where does Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) come from?
Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) is a Maltese dish from Valletta, Malta.
Can Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Lampuki Pie (Torta tal-Lampuki) take to make?
About 90 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 50 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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