Imqaret

Ingredients

Pastry

• 500 gplain flour
• 150 gbutter
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1 tspaniseed
• zest of 1 orange
• 100 mlwater
• 2 tbspanisette

Filling

• 500 gdried dates, stoned
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tspmixed spice
• 2 tbspanisette
• 50 mlwater

To finish

• oil, for deep frying
• icing sugar

Directions

1. Chop the dates and simmer them with the orange juice, zests, spice and water until they collapse into a thick dark paste, about 15 minutes.
2. Cook the paste until it is genuinely stiff, thick enough to hold its shape on the spoon. A loose filling leaks into the oil and ruins the whole pan.
3. Blend or mash it smooth, stir in the anisette, and cool it completely.
4. Rub the butter into the flour with the sugar, aniseed and orange zest, then bring it together with the water and anisette into a firm dough.
5. Rest it for 30 minutes, which relaxes the dough enough to roll thin without springing back.
6. Roll the dough out into a long strip about 10 cm wide and 3 mm thick.
7. Pipe or spoon a line of date paste down the centre of the strip.
8. Fold one long edge over the filling and then the other, overlapping them, press the seam closed, and turn it seam side down.
9. Now cut the strip on the diagonal, at an angle, into diamonds about 6 cm long.
10. The diagonal cut is what makes the diamond, and imqaret are always diamonds. Cut straight across you get rectangles and something no longer recognisable as imqaret.
11. Press the cut ends closed with your fingers, sealing the filling in at every edge.
12. Heat the oil to 180°C (355°F) and fry them a few at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until golden and blistered.
13. Drain them on a rack, dust with icing sugar, and serve warm.
14. They are best hot and are eaten standing up out of a paper bag, at village feasts and from the vans outside Valletta’s City Gate.

Technique

• The name comes from Arabic, from the diamond shape rather than from any ingredient.
• Aniseed in both the pastry and the filling is the Maltese signature.
• Some bakers bake them rather than frying, which keeps better but is not the street version.

Substitutions

• Block date paste, softened with orange juice.
• Ouzo or arak in place of anisette.

Variations

• Baked instead of fried.
• Served hot with vanilla ice cream, which is now standard in Maltese cafés.
• Made small, as a party sweet.

History

Diamond-shaped fried pastries filled with date paste, sold at village feasts and outside Valletta’s City Gate; the name comes from Arabic.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imqaret?

Imqaret is a dessert from Malta: fried diamond pastries filled with spiced dates. Diamond-shaped fried pastries filled with date paste, sold at village feasts and outside Valletta’s City Gate; the name comes from Arabic.

How long does Imqaret take to make?

Imqaret takes 40 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 24. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Imqaret?

Yes, within limits. Block date paste, softened with orange juice. Ouzo or arak in place of anisette.

What is the most important thing to get right in Imqaret?

Cook the paste until it is genuinely stiff, thick enough to hold its shape on the spoon. A loose filling leaks into the oil and ruins the whole pan.