Turkey is the classic Christmas Day roast in Malta, but oven-roasted pork is a close second, and in plenty of homes it is the favourite. The Maltese way is simple: the meat goes into the oven on top of a tray of patata il-forn, sliced potatoes layered with onion, garlic and fennel seeds, so everything cooks together and the potatoes take on all the flavour from the roast.

It is the kind of dish that used to be taken to the village baker’s oven on Sundays and feast days, and it still tastes like a family meal: generous, savoury and unfussy.

This Tone & Taste version uses a pork loin roast for easy carving, with a fennel and garlic rub and a stock-soaked potato bake that turns crisp on top and soft underneath.

What Is It?

Maltese roast pork, or majjal il-forn, is pork roasted in the oven with garlic, fennel seeds, olive oil and a splash of white wine. It is almost always served with patata il-forn, the Maltese oven potatoes that bake in the same tin.

The potatoes are sliced, layered with onions and fennel seeds, and half-covered with stock. As the pork roasts above them, fat and juices drip down, so the top layer crisps while the bottom turns soft and rich.

Fennel seed is the flavour that makes it Maltese. Wild fennel grows all over the islands and the seeds turn up in sausages, potatoes and roasts.

A Little History

Baking meat and potatoes together in one tin goes back to a time when most homes did not have their own oven. Families would prepare the tray at home and carry it to the local bakery, where it cooked in the bread oven after the morning bake. The name says it plainly: il-forn simply means “the oven”.

Pork has long been a festive meat in Malta, and pork loin or leg roasts are a common alternative to turkey on Christmas Day. Many families now serve both, with the trimmings of a British-style Christmas dinner alongside the Maltese potatoes.

The method has not changed much: good meat, fennel, garlic, potatoes, and time in a hot oven.