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Food
Ligurian cuisine is maybe the one which best represents the culinary tradition of the Mediterranean area: for centuries Liguria has been considering the homeland of the olive tree, with its unmistakable product, the olive oil, present everywhere in Ligurian and Mediterranean cuisine.
The most important dishes are based on sea food, with its unique characteristics of simplicity and genuineness.
In particular, the food in the Riviera di Levante (Eastern Riviera) is different from the one in the Riviera di Ponente (Western Riviera); here meat is modestly present, because the land is not suitable for breeding.
The hinterland cuisine is characterized by the use of main elements: mushrooms, combined with both meat and fish, olive oil, fruits and vegetables from gardens and especially the harvesting of both spontaneous and cultivated herbs that enrich all the specialties of the region.
Among all the herbs basil is the most important one: here it grows with a different flavour and it is the main ingredient for the pesto, the famous sauce.
Ligurian cuisine is also rich in various kinds of focaccia, like the famous “farinata” (made with chickpeas), prepared every morning and to taste, also like appetizer, rigorously hot, together with a glass of a good Vermentino wine.
About wines, Liguria has been for years an appreciated wine production area, we can mention, besides Vermentino, Pigato, Rossese, Ormeasco and some others known all over the world.
The specialty of Vernazza, which represents the tradition as well, is the “tian” (the local dialect world for “pan”). The dish is a pan of thin cut potatoes and anchovies, with olive oil, white wine, garlic, lemon rind, fresh tomato, parsley, oregano and rosemary.
Among the desserts we can remember the “Stalin” cake, which take its name from the eccentric pastrycook who created it about 25 years ago, prepared like a tart with fruit jam, plain chocolate and covered by short pastry.
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