Liguria, Italy

Liguria Eating And Drinking, Italy

Ligurian cuisine is basic and traditionally Mediterranean. Very simple ingredients are used, which alone seem insignificant, but mixed together bring out a final taste of great harmony. The basis of all recipes is Ligurian olive oil, sweet and delicate and herbs.

The most famous specialty in the world is pesto, a sauce made from olive oil, basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan, used as a sauce on various types of pasta like troffie and trenette.

There is a wide variety of ravioli, the most original are pansotti, larger ravioli filled with vegetables and herbs, delicious with walnut sauce. To complete the list of first courses, a hearty soup from La Spezia: mes'ciua, made with boiled chickpeas, beans and spelt.

A typically Ligurian prerogative are the focaccias and pies: from the simple focaccia with oil to those filled with cheese, you won't be able to resist the fragrance and aroma of this specialty. Among its many savory pies the torta pasqualina, is famous: layers of puff pastry filled with chard, ricotta cheese, herbs and egg.

Meat dishes of Ligurian cuisine include tomaselle, veal roulades filled with meat, egg and herbs, and cima, veal stomach stuffed with a mixture of meat, vegetables and cheese.

Fish holds a place of honor in Ligurian cuisine. There is a wide range of recipes: mixed fried fish, fish salad, triglie (mullet) alla genovese and sweetsour stockfish. Muscles are everywhere, either alla marinara or stuffed. However, the true queen of Liguria's sea is the anchovy, eaten fresh, fried or stuffed, but it is also good for canning.

Wine

From the vineyards on the cliffs overlooking the sea of the Riviera di Levante come excellent white wines including Cinque Terre DOC, dry with a delicate bouquet and the rare Sciacchetrà, a great after dinner wine. Colli di Luni, both white and red, is also worthy of note. The other Ligurian wines come from the Riviera di Ponente, the whites Pigato and Vermentino, and Rossese di Dolceacqua, a pleasant and delicate red wine.