almonds

Torta di grano saraceno trentina – buckwheat cake from Trentino Alto Adige

~ stefano arturi ~ 15 Comments

Torta di grano saraceno - buckwheat cake

Trentino Alto Adige is a strange corner of Italy: more Heidi’s playground than your typical sea & sun postcard from Italy. On the north-east border with Austria, its gorgeous Alpine scenery, flower-festooned wooden houses and German street signs give its past away: Trentino was part of the the Austrian-Empire, from the early 19th century to just after the first world war.  This is reflected in its food: gulasch suppe,  sauerkraut, apple strudel are common  dishes.
Torta di grano saraceno is one of the most famous cakes from the area, a buckwheat and nut sponge cake, generally filled with a sharp berry jam (blueberry, black currant or raspberry jam). Continue reading →

Pan di mort (All Souls spiced chocolate biscuits from Lombardy)

~ stefano arturi ~ 8 Comments
Italian spiced chocolate biscuits
Italian spiced chocolate biscuits

Here’s another traditional recipe from Lombardy that honours I morti, All Souls. Pan di mort (literally “dead people’s bread”) are quintessential Lombardy biscuits that are sold in bakeries between the end of October and the first week in November. They are diamond-shaped, chocolatey, spicy biscuits, full of nuts and candied citrus peels, quite chewy but not crunchy. Continue reading →

Caponata di zucca (Sicilian sour-sweet butternut squash caponata)

~ stefano arturi ~ 18 Comments
Caponata di zucca
Caponata di zucca

Sicilian caponata di melanzane is very famous, however it is not the only one. In fact, on a trip to Sicily and after reading the seminal “Profumi di Sicilia” by Giuseppe Coria,  I learnt that “caponata” is only a generic term used to describe a dish made of assorted cooked vegetables finished off with a sour sweet condiment, either sugar or honey and vinegar. Continue reading →

Biscotti di mandorle al vino (almond, white whine and olive oil biscotti)

~ stefano arturi ~ 6 Comments
Vegan olive oil almond biscotti
Vegan olive oil almond biscotti

Out of curiosity, I have been experimenting with vegan baking lately. Most efforts went into the bin, lacking any real good flavour and/or texture.  I then had a eureka moment when I remembered the traditional ciambelline al vino from Rome. They are sweet, crunchy, little pastry rings, made with whine (red or white, it does not matter), olive oil and anicini (aniseed  seeds) – here a good version I tried. They are really moorish and una tira l’altra, as we say:  you cannot stop eating them. I decided to play around that theme, Continue reading →

Le fave dei morti (almond and pinenuts tiny biscuits for All Souls and All Saint day, a recipe from Lombardy)

~ stefano arturi ~ 9 Comments
Fave dei morti
Fave dei morti

Publishing this recipe shows how conservative I am at heart, when it comes to food – a trait I share with many fellow Italians. Fave dei morti means “broad beans of the dead” and it is the name of these tiny almond and pinenut biscuits,  shaped to resemble broad beans, that traditionally have been made for centuries around All Saints day and All Souls Day, the first and second of November, as offerings to the dead ones. They are generally sold at bakeries and patisseries, but, at least in a big city like Milano, where I used to live,  they are now on the wane, unfortunately. Continue reading →