I can’t think of anything more Sicilian than olive oil cake and blood oranges. This Easter, I went looking for something to do with blood oranges, as they are at farmers’ markets in Los Angeles at the moment. They are only around for about 3-4 weeks so it was now or never (at least for this year). You certainly can substitute regular oranges although go for smaller sweeter ones.

I came across this recipe in the NY Times which I successfully doubled for the 12 people we had over for Easter.

Continue reading Blood orange olive oil cake (Torta di arance rosse e olio) at Our Italian Table.

As we prepare to head back to LA, we think about olive oil, that quintessentially Italian product — we had never seen so many olive trees as in Puglia, it was astounding — and our visit to the masseria (farm) of the hospitable Signore Brancati, whose family has made olive oil for more than 200 years at their masseria (MasseriaBrancati.com) outside Ostuni, and whose property includes olive trees that were already bearing fruit in the time of Christ!

Continue reading Masseria Brancati: the Real Thing at Our Italian Table.