Because eating meat during Lent was not permitted, Aljotta was very popular during Lent. This soup calls for the whole fish—head and tail included—in order to develop the best flavor possible.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 tomatoes, sliced
1 bay leaf
Fresh mint
8 cups water
1 whole small fish, about 800 grams (1.75 pounds; traditionally rock fish, substitutes include halibut, flounder, or snapper), cleaned and cut into 4 pieces
100 grams (3.5 ounces) rice
Salt
Pepper
2 lemons (one for juice, one for garnish)
Fresh parsley
Recipe courtesy of Malta.com, photo courtesy of Fotolia. Learn more about Maltese cuisine and find more recipes for traditional Maltese dishes at Malta.com
Natalie Clements says: Hi I always make Aljotta I get the fish barramundi heads from my cousins husband who does the fishing boil up the fish liquid strain the bones and add all the extras it is delicious I also use a bit of Whiting fillets if I haven’t got any fish
Natalie Clements says: I make aljotta a lot and I usually buy or get given to me barramundi heads by my cousins husband who fishes quite a lot so I make the soup with that boil it up keep the liquid and discard the bones of course yummy
Salvatore Ellul says: 4 fresh fish,like trill and pagru.
6 fresh tomatoes
Glove
Onion
Mint
Add mussels
Clams
Prawns
Vongole
Gemma Dingli says: We use the head, tail and bones for this soup and put them in a muslin bag so that we get them out of the soup without leaving any bones in the soup. I do not strain the soup and the fillets I stuff with capers, olives, garlic, tomatoes and mint and bake them.
Lisa says: My nanna Nina used to make this when I was a little girl but I remember it being more on the white side I’m colour. I could be wrong. Also how much rice?
Love bringing back memories with food.
Katherine-Oldways says: Hi Lisa, thank you for sharing. We are so happy this brought back memories for you! We recommend 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of rice in our version!
Fred says: I love the way you support individual substitutions based on personal tastes. Getting people to eat healthier with recipe structure is a great way to better their awareness of the benefits of eating healthy. Your doing good things here.
Prof 1 says: I was surprised at how easy this was to pull together. Served the soup with homemade bread. A+
Josephine Dimech (Maltese) says: Hello,
My mum used to cook “Aljotta tal-hut” but she never used bay leaves or tomatoes. She used tomatoe paste.
We’re Maltese and this dish is traditional for our country. She use to do it with ‘Vopi’. A small fish. The smallest the fish the flavour is better. Before cooking we use to remove the flash of the fish and the soup was made by the heads, tails and the bones. With the flash we made “pulpetti” (fritters) as second dish and served with veg or chips.
Regarding potatoes in the Aljotta I don’t really agree because potatoes have starch and they might loose a lot of the taste.
Katherine-Oldways says: Hi Josephine, this is very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing how your family prepares this dish, we love learning new things! Your version of the soup, and the “pulpetti’ sound delicious!
Lisa LiGreci says: How much mint?
Katherine-Oldways says: Hi Lisa, you can add about a tablespoon of dried mint or a handful of fresh leaves.
Miriam Jackson in Adelaide SA says: hi i made this recipe with some Tommie’s that my brother in law caught and i filleted them and used the bones heads and tails. i boiled them and strained and add to the rest of the soup as this is how i use to see my mum making it when i was young.
i dont cook the rice in soup i precook it and add while i serve.
its yummy. one of my favourite dish. thank you for your help
Silvana Cassar says: I have made several times its yummy
Carol says: Why strain the soup and discard the vegies
Etc?
Katherine-Oldways says: Hi Carol, by the straining step you should already have all the flavors you need from the tomatoes, bay leaves and mint. Straining it allows for a smoother texture and allows the focus to be on the broth and fish. However, you could adjust the recipe to personal preference if you would like.
Moriaelini says: I could only find flounder fillets, so am wondering if I should use fish stock instead of water to make up for it…or would chicken stock work?
Hannah-Oldways says: It’s totally up to you! If you like the taste of chicken stock, feel free to substitute it in this dish.
Ray G says: In Canada My beloved mom made it from my creel of small perch. It tasted awesome. I’m I am going to text local fish market to get some fish carcasses to make some for myself
Hannah-Oldways says: Hi Airi! The timing will depend on how long it takes to clean, cut, and prepare the whole fish, and how long it takes the pieces of fish to fully cook—you’ll want to make sure the pieces of meat are white and fully cooked. We would estimate 45 minutes-an hour, but we’d love to hear how it goes!
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