Carina’s Kitchen

An old family recipe creates a delicious and nutritious meal in minutes

Your top chef cooks up a speedy and simple pasta dish

SOME months make you think of family or friends who are no longer with us. April always has me thinking of my Nonna Olivia – my husband Victor’s mother. She was a fanatical walker and had the best legs even in her 80s.

She and Victor’s dad would always head over to the Italian island of Ischia for a few weeks in April before she’d return to work for the summer season.

Olivia was as much of an influence on my cooking as my own mother. They were two great cooks of different styles. Olivia was more adventurous, cooking anything from curries to Chinese and, of course, Italian. My mother’s cooking, on the other hand, is very traditional – lots of French recipes, loads of baking and of course Scottish hearty seasonal favourites that I love sharing with you.

My mother was the cook in our family business, so she spent all day at the stove. Kidney soup or syrup pudding were dishes that needed time to simmer away, and she did lots of it in between service. She also had an entourage peeling potatoes and scrubbing pots.

Nonna Olivia ran a seasonal guest house, but she also had a loving but hungry husband.

Running breakfast, laundry and check-in took up most of her day, so providing delicious, nutritious food quickly was a requirement. And there were no beans on toast meals in this Contini house! She created many fast dishes that would be easier and speedier than any ready meal in a microwave.

Dad used to call this spaghetti dish of hers by its Neopolitan name – pasta alla scioe scioe! Quick quick in a pan.

It must have been love, honour and “cook my lunch every day of my life” in the marriage vows! The marriage lasted almost 50 years, and Nonna Olivia is dearly missed.

This recipe is one of our most popular at Contini George Street and it is named in honour of Nonna.