Ligurian Recipes

Ligurian Cuisine

Benvenuto in Liguria, a sliver of land that stretches along Italy’s northwestern shore and cozies up against the French border. This coastal corner of the country has been occupied by Byzantines, Romans, and others, but has spent most of the last 1,000 years under the control of Genoa, considered a Mediterranean maritime superpower in its heyday.

Liguria is noted for its mountainous landscape that gives way to rugged coastlines, both which have long been the hunting grounds for those who scavenged the harsh terrain, and for fishermen who took to the Ligurian Sea. You can taste this tradition of living off the land and sea via the region’s long-loved products and dishes.

On the turf side, the region is a top producer of olive oil, its liquid gold a star ingredient in the local, basil-based sauce, pesto Genovese. Meanwhile, other popular bites include farinata, a savory, pancake-like pie made of chickpea flour, olive oil, salt and water. Then, of course, there’s that often-olive oil-rich focaccia that for so many us is synonymous with Italian bread.

As for the surf, with the water never very far away, it should come as no surprise that Liguria has an abundance of delicious seafood, some of which are tuna, swordfish, sardines, and sea bass. Expect the locally caught fare to make appearances in the salad-like capon magro with its layers of veggies, fish and shellfish, or preserved as regional specialties such as salted anchovies.

Come the holidays, meals are capped off with the traditional pandolce Genovese, a mildly sweet dessert that has the dry, dense crunch of biscotti (as Americans know it), and which is dotted by tasty, sweet treasures of nuts and candied fruit.

WINES OF LIGURIA

Known for more than just food, Liguria is also toast-worthy for its production of both delicate and elegant white wines, as well as dynamic and refined red wines. Among the whites, Vermentino deserves special mention given its big, fruity and bright personality, making it ideal to sip on with an aperitif or along with a rich fish dinner. And though Liguria is predominantly known for its white wines, its velvety and fruity Rossese di Dolcecqua has become a regional stand-out, and is the ideal pair for light meat dishes such as rabbit. Indeed, between the food and the wine, there’s a lot to raise one’s glass to in this famously delicious region of Italy.

Ligurian Cuisine

Benvenuto in Liguria, a sliver of land that stretches along Italy’s northwestern shore and cozies up against the French border. This coastal corner of the country has been occupied by Byzantines, Romans, and others, but has spent most of the last 1,000 years under the control of Genoa, considered a Mediterranean maritime superpower in its heyday.

Liguria is noted for its mountainous landscape that gives way to rugged coastlines, both which have long been the hunting grounds for those who scavenged the harsh terrain, and for fishermen who took to the Ligurian Sea. You can taste this tradition of living off the land and sea via the region’s long-loved products and dishes.

On the turf side, the region is a top producer of olive oil, its liquid gold a star ingredient in the local, basil-based sauce, pesto Genovese. Meanwhile, other popular bites include farinata, a savory, pancake-like pie made of chickpea flour, olive oil, salt and water. Then, of course, there’s that often-olive oil-rich focaccia that for so many us is synonymous with Italian bread.

As for the surf, with the water never very far away, it should come as no surprise that Liguria has an abundance of delicious seafood, some of which are tuna, swordfish, sardines, and sea bass. Expect the locally caught fare to make appearances in the salad-like capon magro with its layers of veggies, fish and shellfish, or preserved as regional specialties such as salted anchovies.

Come the holidays, meals are capped off with the traditional pandolce Genovese, a mildly sweet dessert that has the dry, dense crunch of biscotti (as Americans know it), and which is dotted by tasty, sweet treasures of nuts and candied fruit.

WINES OF LIGURIA

Known for more than just food, Liguria is also toast-worthy for its production of both delicate and elegant white wines, as well as dynamic and refined red wines. Among the whites, Vermentino deserves special mention given its big, fruity and bright personality, making it ideal to sip on with an aperitif or along with a rich fish dinner. And though Liguria is predominantly known for its white wines, its velvety and fruity Rossese di Dolcecqua has become a regional stand-out, and is the ideal pair for light meat dishes such as rabbit. Indeed, between the food and the wine, there’s a lot to raise one’s glass to in this famously delicious region of Italy.