🍢 SNACK
Barbagiuan
Monaco's national bite: little fried pastries stuffed with chard, ricotta, and herbs.
Monégasque · medium · serves 6
prep 40 min · cook 20 min
~363 cal · 17g protein · 53g carbs · 9g fat · 4g fiber · 2g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Barbagiuan is the little fried turnover Monaco claims as its own, and its name is charming folk etymology: it is said to mean "Uncle John" in Monegasque, the endangered local tongue. In truth it is a close cousin of the herb-filled pies of neighbouring Liguria, a reminder that this tiny principality sits culturally on the border between France and Italy.
The filling is Mediterranean and green: Swiss chard (or spinach), ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and sometimes leek or rice, folded into thin pastry and crimped into small parcels. Where the Ligurian pies are baked, the barbagiuan is fried, so the pastry blisters and turns golden and crisp around the soft, savoury centre.
They are festive, hand-held food, made by the trayful for the national holiday, for saints' days, and for family celebrations, and eaten hot as a snack or antipasto. Small, crisp, and comforting, the barbagiuan is a whole principality's worth of pride in a single bite.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and 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
- 2.5 cups flour (for the pastry)
- 1 lb Swiss chard (or spinach), cooked and chopped
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup Parmesan, traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet; strict vegetarians should use a vegetarian-rennet hard cheese
- 1 egg (in the filling)
- 1 leek
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- a small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- for frying olive oil
Instructions
- 1Make a simple olive-oil pastry with the flour and a little water, then rest it 30 minutes.
- 2Mix the chard, ricotta, Parmesan, egg (or extra ricotta), softened leek and onion, garlic, cooked rice, and parsley into a filling.✎ Chef’s noteThe little bit of cooked rice is traditional and does real work: it soaks up the moisture the chard gives off, so the filling stays thick and the parcels do not go soggy.
- 3Roll the pastry thin and cut it into squares.
- 4Place a spoon of filling on each square, fold into little parcels, and press the edges to seal well.✎ Chef’s noteSeal the edges firmly, pressing out any air. A loose seal lets the parcels burst and leak filling into the hot oil.
- 5Fry the barbagiuan in hot oil until blistered and golden, then drain and serve hot.
Monaco tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Monaco. The cooking is Ligurian rather than French. Socca, a thin chickpea flour pancake baked in a wide pan and scraped up hot, is a street food shared with Nice; olive oil, basil and stockfish run through the older recipes; and the fish is Mediterranean, small, and cooked without much done to it.
🗺️
Monaco. Monaco's cuisine is Mediterranean Niçoise, socca chickpea pancakes, stuffed vegetables (barbagiuan), and stocafi salt-cod stew. Olive oil, herbs, and the Riviera coast define an elegant, sun-drenched table.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Monaco
StocafiMonaco's stockfish stew, simmered in tomato, wine, olives, and herbs until rich and tender.
SoccaA thin, crisp-edged chickpea-flour pancake baked hot and eaten in torn pieces with black pepper.
Pan BagnatA round loaf soaked in olive oil and packed with a Niçoise salad of tuna, egg, and vegetables, a Riviera lunch.
Browse all Monaco recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
Make it a Monaco meal
Fougasse MonégasqueDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Sambusak b'Tawa (Iraqi Chickpea Turnovers)Iraq
Aloo Samosa (Punjabi Spiced Potato Samosa)India
Tequeños (Venezuelan Cheese Sticks)Venezuela
Orelletes (Andorran Fried Sugar Pastries)Andorra
Calzones Rotos (Chilean Twisted Fried Pastries)Chile
Pastechi (Curaçao Fried Cheese Turnovers)Curaçao
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Barbagiuan?
Monaco's national bite: little fried pastries stuffed with chard, ricotta, and herbs.
Where does Barbagiuan come from?
Barbagiuan is a Monégasque dish from Monaco, Monaco.
Can Barbagiuan be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Barbagiuan recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Barbagiuan 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Barbagiuan take to make?
About 60 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 6.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.