Cooking with Love

with Gianna Conte    (Jan)

Got a box of spaghetti in your cupboard?

Got a box of spaghetti in your cupboard?

Friday night with nothing to eat

You'll need these ingredients:

1 lb of spaghetti or linguini

1/2 cup sliced, pitted black olives

Sliced fresh garlic about 2-3 cloves 

1/4 cup chopped capers

1/4 cup of good olive oil

Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can of tuna, preferably Italian  packed in oil

Hot pepper flakes to taste

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

All you do:

Put the water on to cook the pasta. Salt the water. While it's coming to boil, prepare oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add sliced fresh garlic and chopped capers and sliced olives. Cook for a few minutes. Add chopped parsley and shredded Italian tuna.

Garlic is very important for this recipe

Garlic is very important for this recipe

Flake the tuna

Flake the tuna

It's gonna be good

Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup water. Add pasta water to saucepan along with garlic mixture. Stir well.

Drain pasta, add the sauce and toss very, very well. Spread that sauce on the whole pound of spaghetti or linguini.

Serve with a hearty burgundy wine. You may want a small salad on the side, yes?

Buon appitto!



Let's get baking!


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees


 1 whole thin skinned orange, remove the stem and cut in quarters. Keep the skin on the oranges.

In a clean large food processor, add the orange quarters, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, three large eggs, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1 tsp of orange extract, 1 tbsp of Triple Sec liqueur, optional, 2/3 cup vegetable oil. 


Pulse all ingredients in the processor and then puree until mixture becomes a batter with specs of orange peel.


Add to the processor:


2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt


Process all dry ingredients until they are entirely incorporated into the batter.


Bake in a greased and floured spring pan, using a parchment paper circle on top of the greased bottom.*


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place in the center rack of the oven.  Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven.


Remove from your oven and let it cool down completely. Dust with powdered sugar or make a drizzle of 1/4 cup powdered sugar and fresh squeezed orange until thick and smooth.  Pour onto the cooled fresh orange cake.


*if you don't have a large processor, you can use a blender.


Enjoy with some espresso and close your eyes and it will feel like you're in Sicily.