FarinataChickpea flatbread
A thin, savoury pancake of chickpea flour, water and olive oil baked screaming-hot in a copper pan until the edges crisp, Genoa's street snack.
Pairs with
Liguria cuisine
Liguria cooks from a thin coastal strip of herbs, olive oil and sea: basil pesto and chickpea farinata, anchovies from the Riviera, elaborate seafood salads, rabbit with olives from the hills. Its wines are salt-tinged whites, Pigato and Vermentino of the Ponente, Bosco of the Cinque Terre, the rare red Rossese of Dolceacqua, and the honeyed Sciacchetrà passito.
Antipasto
Focaccia di Recco col FormaggioThin cheese-filled focaccia
Two paper-thin sheets of unleavened dough enclosing molten stracchino cheese, baked until blistered, the pride of Recco.
Cappon MagroLayered seafood-and-vegetable salad
A towering 'lean' festive salad of hardtack, boiled vegetables, fish and shellfish bound with a green sauce, Genoese baroque on a plate.
Pairs with
Primo
Trofie al PestoTrofie with basil pesto
Little hand-rolled trofie tossed with pesto genovese (basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano and pecorino, olive oil), potato and green beans.
Pairs with
Pansoti con Salsa di NociHerb ravioli in walnut sauce
Triangular ravioli filled with 'preboggion' wild herbs and prescinseua cheese, dressed in a creamy walnut sauce.
Pairs with
Secondo
Acciughe RipieneStuffed fried anchovies
Fresh anchovies of the Riviera boned, stuffed with a herb-and-breadcrumb filling, breaded and fried.
Coniglio alla LigureLigurian braised rabbit
Rabbit braised with Taggiasca olives, pine nuts, white wine, rosemary and thyme, the Riviera's signature meat dish.
Dolce
Pandolce GenoveseGenoese fruit-and-nut bread
A dense Genoese sweet bread studded with raisins, candied fruit, pine nuts and fennel seed, the Christmas cake of the port.
Typical products
DOP, IGP and traditional specialities of Liguria.
Basilico Genovese DOPDOP
Genovese basil · Herb
The small, tender, sweet-scented basil of the Ligurian coast, the only basil with protected status and the soul of true pesto genovese.
Olio Riviera Ligure DOPDOP
Riviera Ligure olive oil · Extra-virgin olive oil
A delicate, sweet, pale-gold extra-virgin olive oil pressed mostly from Taggiasca olives of the two Rivieras.
Oliva TaggiascaPAT
Taggiasca olive · Olive
The small, sweet, brown-purple olive of the western Riviera, eaten in brine or pressed for the region's finest oil.
Acciughe Sotto Sale del Mar Ligure IGPIGP
Ligurian salted anchovies · Preserved fish
Anchovies of the Ligurian sea layered whole in coarse salt to cure, then filleted for pasta, focaccia and sauces.
Chinotto di SavonaSlow Food Presidium
Savona chinotto · Citrus
A tiny, intensely bitter dwarf-orange of the Savona coast, candied whole or turned into the dark chinotto drink.
Fagiolo di PignaSlow Food Presidium
Pigna bean · Beans
A prized small white bean of the Nervia valley village of Pigna, thin-skinned and buttery, stewed with the local goat.