Prodotti, cucina, tradizioni

Here you have a small preview of what you'll find around here!
Our food is born from the metting of sea with country life. What has been a necessity due to the hard life is now a sought after cooking tradition. You can call it "poor food", but beware, this means "symple food". Back in time you had to navigate and stay away from your town for months. Food had to be preserved. Again, while in the country you had nothing more than what your work produced: oil, milk, meat, vegetables. The result is a light cooking style, fresh and natural.
Obviously every town has a different set of dishes!

	Main base products
	Olive oil The cultivar Taggiasca olive grows in almost every parts of the Riviera. The trees grow on the steep hills and mountains thanks to the ancient terracing system.
	Fishing If the villages you can find in our interland were born thanks to the agriculture and breeding, towns by the seaside were home for our fishermen. Lobsters, fried mixed fish...Liguria has an huge seafood tradition.
	Wine Ormeasco, vermentino, pigato...between the olive trees, surrounded by vegetation or earth burned by sun, Ligurian wine is born in while Rome was the center of the known world and gets more and more identity during the medieval ages.
	Conio, Pigna, Badalucco's beans Imported from Wellness Centerin during the XVII century, the original beans have found a perfect habitat around these villages, growing as original as delicious. Conio's beans, Slow Food's Presidia, are produced in limited quantities. One of the most renowned products around.
	Vessalico's garlic Just like Conio's beans, this white garlic is a Slow Food's Presidia. Produced in limited quantities, this great product usually becomes rapidly out of stock during the annual fair in july.

	Dolci
	Solva's Biscette A legend tells about the viper's invasion of Solva in 1200, a small village just over Alassio. Only the prayers of a saint man to the Virgin Mary have been able to chase away the dangerous snakes. Today, during the patronal feast, you can taste these tiny and delicious biscuits, made to honour the chase.
	Taggia's biscuits During the XVII century Taggia's Rossi and Bianchi religious brotherhoods made these biscuits to give them in return for the faithful's offers.
	Biscuteli Originally from Bordighera, produced in just in one bakery in Vallebona. These biscuits are perfect if soaked in Rossese wine.
	Castagnole Born in Ventimiglia, this biscuit is made in celebration of San Secondo's feast and during Carnival.
	Castagnun or Castagnaccio You can find this chestnut cake all over liguria with many variants. Remeber, chestnuts were ome of the main foods for our fathers in our interland.
	Chifferi From the Arabic word "kefir" (moon), these sugar and almond candies were invented in 1872 in Finale Ligure by Benedetto Ferro. You can now find them all over our region.
	Focaccia dolce della nonna - Sweet grandmother's "pizza" (to tomatoes!) Born in Ventimiglia, this sweet cake must be eaten after cooling.
	Gobeletti or Gubelletti Short pastry biscuits filled with jam, born in Genua and Savona's interland, now produced everywhere in Liguria.
	Michette This one comes from Dolceacqua. Legend tells about brides making these biscuits for the castle's owner instead of...ius primae noctis.
	Pandolce genovese - Genua's sweet bread Chrsitmas sweet, born during medieval ages. One of the most famous Ligurian products.
	Stroscia From the dialect word "stroscià", to break, since breaking it with hands is the only way to eat this hard and crumbly cake, born in Pietrabruna. The main ingredient is olive oil.

	Salami
	Testa in cassetta - Literally "head inside a box" More than one hundred years old, this receipt is based on pork's meat. Cuts, elbows, head...everything gets pressed and spiced, making a salami that has to be eaten fresh.
	Zeraria or "Zeaia" One of Imperia's typical dishes, cooked during Christmas and Santa Caterina's feast.

	Cheese
	Bruzzu or brusso Made with ricotta (soft white cheese made from milk). The taste is pretty strong.
	Valle Argentina's Formaggetta - Valle Argentina's cheese This cheese varies depending on the shepherd that produces it. It can be eaten fresh or seasoned as dressing. Cow, sheep and goat's milk can be used.
	Formaggio d'alpeggio di Triora - Triora's high mountains cheese With a 3 month to one year seasoning, it's produced while cows are on the higher grasses around Triora.
	Tome di pecora brigasca - Pecora Brigasca's cheese - Slow Food's Presidia La Brigue, a village in Roya's valley, once upon a time the main center for sherpherd near Liguria, Piemonte and Provence. The sheep, indigenous of the valley and similar to Frabosana sheep, is strong and perfect for the rocky and steep mountains around La Brigue. Her milk produces brus (brusso) and the sought after Toma. Actually there are just 1,800 sheeps (60,000 at the beginning of XX century). To preserve this species, to defend the cheese and the sherpherds, Slow Food and Regione Liguria choose to make a Presidia.

	Bread
	Carpasinn-a Hard as stone, wetted with water and vinegar, brushed with garlic, dressed with fresh tomato, anchovy and basil. Born in Carpasio, Argentina valley, as usual meal for sherperds while on transhumance, made today in just one bakery in Badalucco.
	Fugassa - or classic Genua's white pizza - Slow Food's Presidia Spreaded all over Liguria, only few Genua's bakers make this pizza following the original receipt, a Slow Food's Presidia.
	Focaccia di Recco - Recco's white pizza Recco is a bit far away from Diano Marina: about 1:30 hours. Anyway, the white pizza made in that town by the sea is just so good that it's worth travelling. Two thin veils of dough filled with creamy stracchino, a fresh cheese, or even better, the "prescinseua" cheese. Everything must be cooked in a wood oven and immediately eaten! How old is this tasty focaccia? Well, an original document from 1150 talks about a very similar dish made for crusaders before leaving for the Holy Land.
	Focaccia with olives, with sage, with onions Focaccia, a tasy white pizza made everywhere in Liguria, in many variants.
	Gallette du mainà - dryed sailor's biscuits The original fuel for galley's rowers, today the main ingredient for Cappon Magro and Cundiggiun. Dry and cruncy, cooked in every village by the sea.
	Grissa de Dusaiga Dolceacqua's original bread, dry or cruncy, depending on the preparation.
	Libretto - that can be translated with "Booklet" Small bread born in Genua, now spreaded all over Liguria.
	Pane d'Aurigo - Aurigo's bread You'll find this tasty bread just in Aurigo, between olve trees, made with integral flour.
	Pane di Triora - Triora's bread One of the most renowned breads in Liguria, a true homemade bread, born in Argentina valley. Triora iself comes from the latin word "tritum", minced.
	Torta pasqualina or torta verde - Easter's cake or green cake Legumes, rice, egg, parmesan...between two thin dough veils.
	Tortello Similar to Torta verde,"tortello", born just over Imperia, is stuffed with artichokes, peas and an entire egg in the middle.
	Pan negru - Pigna's black bread Type 2 flour, spring water, salt and yeast. Born, obviously, in Pigna.
	Pizzalandrea - Piscialandrea Sailor's pizza dedicated to Andrea Doria Admiral. Thick, soft, with tomato, olives, anchovy and garlic.

	Other foods
	Frixeui "Frixeui" means, in local dialect, small fried vegetables.
	Cundiun - Condiglione You'll find this salade everywhere in Liguria di Ponente. Similar to the Nicoise salad, it must contain tomato, pepper, onion, cucumber, egg, anchovy, taggiasche olives, basil, oil, vinegar and salt. Thanks to his freshness, the condiglione is perfect during summer.
	Frisciolata - Farinata Similar to the French socca, a kind of pizza made with chickpea flour, onions sometimes. Golden, cruncy but also soft, depending on thickness and cooking time.
	Sciue cine - Stuffed flowers Zucchini's flowers, onions, zucchini, stuffed with meat and potatoes.
	Panissa - Panizza An ancient and symple receipt: chickpea flour, oil, pepper and salt. In the winter it can be eaten hot and melted, cold as a jelly, fried and cruncy.
	Cima Excellent cold dish, veal meat stuffed with vegetables, cheese. Pressed and cut as a salami.

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