Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Turmeric, Ginger and Black Pepper Crackers / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Crackers alla curcuma, zenzero e pepe nero

Sometimes they come back again. I can’t stay away from crunchy baked goods, they definitely have a hold on me! After having delighted you with my rye, toasted flour and thyme crackers, emmer knacker brot with mixed seeds, dried wild fennel leaves, lemon and pepper crackers, sourdough crackers and sourdough bread thins I think it’s about time to present you a new recipe Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook, this time using a part of pastry flour and shortening to favour crunchiness. They are simply irresistible! Turmeric gives them an intense and pleasant flavour while ginger adds a little freshness. Black pepper fits well anywhere adding a bit of a kick that is felt just at the end, giving these crackers a little extra. Enjoy these snacks along with an aperitif or during a study break (can’t think of the amount of crackers I did eat during my university days!). They are very easy to make and do not require much time so you have no excuse not to try them out for the next dinner or party you’ll be throwing at home!

MTC Challenge: Celeriac, Turmeric, Apple and Onion mini pies with dill brisée pastry/ MTC Challenge: Tortine al sedano rapa, curcuma, mela e cipolla con brisée all’aneto

For this month’s MTC Challenge Elisa challenges us with a basic cooking preparation, brisée pastry. At first I thought I could not participate because the guideline called for the use of Michel Roux’s recipe. Fortunately, after writing to MTC’s staff I was reassured that in cases of allergies and health problems we were allowed to use other ingredients to substitute the ones indicated in the given recipe, so I decided to try out my first vegan brisée.

For a special friend: Flavia Ingalls’ Custard Pie / Per un’amica speciale: Torta alla crema di Flavia Ingalls

This recipe is dedicated to a good friend and amazing photographer, Flavia. I have known her for almost a year now, having had the chance to team up with her for many of our works for Migros’ weekly paper, Azione, and get on very well. When we can we have dinners and movie projections at the studio she shares with some other very talented guys. On the 28th of August she celebrates her birthday and knowing of her unconditional love for “Little house on the prairie” I looked up many website in search of a themed present. Until we stumbled upon a book of Vivian Maier’s works while visiting an exhibition and suddenly changed plans. But something “Little prairie” themed had to be there for her birthday! So I looked on the web for a recipe instead and picked this custard pie. Why I am posting it so late? Well I admit that along the months I had to tweak a little the recipe until coming up with this one, which is simply perfect.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Walnut and Black Pepper Sablés Biscuits / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Sablés salati alle noci e pepe nero

And we’re back with a new recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. Usually I try to juggle between sweet and savoury, cakes, bread, biscuits and pasta. So far so good. But what hasn’t been posted yet is a recipe for savoury biscuits. So why not surprise your friends with these crumbly, buttery, delicious squares flavoured with walnuts and black pepper? I was even considering to switch to savoury biscuits for this Christmas presents, instead of the same well known traditional cookies and biscuits. After all during Winter holidays cocktails and parties are held almost non-stop, so why not contribute with some good homemade snacks to go along with the bubbles? The basic ingredients apart from the walnuts and black pepper can be mixed up with any flavouring, such as grated cheese, herbs, fennel seeds, spices. Use your imagination!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Walnuts, Aniseed Caramel and Pear Tarts/ Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Tartellette alle noci, caramello all’anice e pera

Autumn has set in and I realised it has been a while since I last posted a good sweet recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. What better occasion than a bag full of walnuts coming straight from my dad’s garden? The process of nut cracking is long and boring, but there is absolutely no comparison with store bought nuts and the whole process can be done on a cold night in front of a good movie, as I actually did. My sister suggested trying out a Tuorta da Nusch (a walnut and caramel tart typical of Engadina region in Switzerland) which is one of my – many I admit – favourite dessert tarts, but I wanted to do something different.

My bread featured on Essen Magazine: “Fashion Food” Editorial + Recipes / Il mio pane su Essen Magazine: Editoriale per la rubrica “Fashion Food” + Ricette

Life is strange, it’s not much in my style to make certain statements but sometimes it seems to me that wishes can come true without too much effort and this is exactly what happened with this adventure with Essen – A Taste Magazine I’m about to tell you. I well remember that Sunday morning in August. My friend Chiara and I were in my kitchen, hands wrapped around our cups of black tea, fragrant freshly baked ciabatta and assorted jams for breakfast. We talked about possible collaborations, ideas of projects involving food and fashion (she works as a stylist in Milan). Chiara suddenly came up with an idea, why not propose an Autumn/Winter fashion editorial for Essen Magazine’s column Fashion Food, featuring my bread creations too? We started writing down ideas, but then as you well know the notes ended up in the middle of a thousand other paperwork scribbled with ideas, projects and recipes to try out. Until I got a phone call from Chiara, telling me that out of the blue she had been given by her boss a job for a fashion editorial for Essen Magazine!

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Trofie with Chestnut and pumpkin sauce / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Trofie alla salsa di castagne e zucca butternut

It has been quite a while since the last time I posted a fresh pasta recipe for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook. My choice fell on a classic of Genoese cuisine, trofie, which are accompanied with two typical ticinese ingredient, pumpkin/butternut squash and chestnuts. There’s nothing more autumnal than this, and considered the cold weather nothing better than a good seasonal dish to warm our hearts and bodies isn’t it?

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Cream Biscuits with Saffron and Raisins / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Biscotti alla panna con zafferano e uvette

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook is back, this time with some cookies which in reality are a little of a failed experiment from an aestethic point of view but then such a delightful for the tastebuds I decided to publish them anyway. Let’s call them ugly but tasty cookies!

Panissimo’s Ecole de boulangerie: La Coupe Saucisson / Panissimo e la sua Ecole de boulangerie: la coupe saucisson

Panissimo also has it’s little school of baking, and every month we are given homeworks in the guise of a new bread shape. Last month finally my friend Michela’s wishes were met, and the shape we had to bake is this very nice saucisson which she had been wanting to make from the start.

Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Pici with Luganega sausage, Hazelnuts and Coffee Sauce / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Pici con salsa alla luganega, nocciole e caffé

And here we are, back to the Mill’s cookbook. Having already experimented with baked goods such as grissini, ciabatte and muffins this month I decided to turn my attention to a pasta recipe. With an incredible timing I came across a recipe for pici, a tuscan pasta, by Margherita/La petite casserole, and loved so much its rustic simplicity I just had to do it straight away. And rustic is the sauce I pulled together for this dish.