Liguria, land of quality - Turismo in Liguria

Vegetable pies
Mesc-ciùa is the local dish of La Spezia and of
the inland area. It is a soup that comes from
a mixture of grains, pulses (barley, chick peas,
Cannellini beans, buckwheat), flavoured with
olive oil and ground pepper.
Stewed rabbit is among the meat based main
courses. It is the fruit of the union between
the delicate meat of rabbit with the flavours
of Taggiasche olives, the unmistakable wine
of the local valleys, the inevitable pine nuts,
onions, rosemary, and of theP.D.O. (Protected
Designation of Origin) extra virgin olive made
in Liguria.
Of the regional vegetable pies, the pastry with spinach and a
variety of herbs mixed with Parmesan and Prescinseua cheese
between its puffy sheets is the oldest and most notable.
The pie with rice is made in all the Ligurian territories; rice is
mixed with eggs and Parmesan cheese, creating this simply
yet hardy dish. Different versions exist in all of the region’s
territories: salted rice pie, whose filling is sometimes covered
with a sheet of dough and the sweet rice pie.
Pumpkin pie is made throughout the region’s territory;
pumpkin and a few other ingredients are mixed to make up
the delicate stuffing of this historic, traditional pie. The latter
can be found pretty much in the entire region, including its
sweet version, in western Liguria too.
The Artichoke pie (torta de articiocche in local dialect) is made
all over Liguria and it uses the same dough as the Pasqualina
pie. The filling is made of purple artichokes from Albenga,
Quagliata cheese, eggs, onions, parsley, oregano, grated
cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. Also delicious is the “de gee”
pie (which is local dialect for chard). It is a savoury pie which
encloses between two folds a mixture based on chard, curd or
ricotta cheese, salt, eggs, grated cheese and olive oil.
Cima “alla genovese”
Another traditional flavouring is artichoke sauce,
typical of the winter months; it uses artichokes
from the planes of Albenga, cut into wedges and
cooked with dried mushrooms, garlic, rosemary,
onions, with the addition of flour, along with
tomato sauce and white wine.
Artichokes are also used for preparing lamb and
artichokes “in fricassea”, made with eggs, lemon
juice, garlic, parsley, white wine, P.D.O. extra
virgin olive oil of Liguria, salt and pepper.
Among the fish specialties in Liguria a variety
of recipes are based on stockfish. Although not
an original local product, it is a part of Ligurian
culinary tradition. It arrived aboard of the ships
that docked in the Ligurian ports. Stoccafisso
accomodato (stewed stockfish) allowed for
another specialty that is prepared with onions,
garlic, parsley, tomatoes, potatoes, pine nuts and
Taggiasche olives.
In the Imperia area, in the Argentina Valley,
stockfish “alla Badalucchese” has this Nordic
fish as its main ingredient. It comes cooked in a
pine nut sauce, hazelnuts, dried mushrooms and
garlic, cured anchovies, white wine, local extra
virgin olive oil and meat stock.
The story goes that the inhabitants of Badalucco
were able to resist a siege thanks to stores of
stockfish. Every year this event is remembered
during the “sagra dello stoccafisso”, or festival of
the stockfish, which happens on the third Sunday
of September.
Another famous recipe which uses stockfish as its
primary ingredient is the “Brandacujon”. It is also
typical of the Imperia area, particularly in the
districts of Sanremo and Isolabona.
The dish has a strange name: in the Provençal
dialect, “brandar” means to shake up, or stir.
The rest needs no translation.
Cappon magro
Another meat based specialty is “cima”. Its
preparation requires time and skill: with a cut
of meat take from the stomach of veal a pocket
Coniglio alla ligure
is created and filled with offal, peas, eggs and
cheese. It is served cut in slices. It originated as a dish “of recovery” , but with time and well- being it was
transformed into a rich dish.
Another regional meat specialty are the “tomaxelle”, rolls of veal made rich with a filling of eggs, oregano,
cheese, pine nuts, parsley, garlic and mushrooms, then closed with fishing line and stewed in white wine,
tomatoes, meat sauce and broth.
Also part of the tradition is “tocco di carne”, a rich sauce of beef, carrots, celery, onions, parsley, dried
mushrooms, white wine and tomatoes. Yet another is “tocco ai funghi”, another sauce which uses
porcini mushrooms slowly cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, thyme and oregano.
The recipe is based on stockfish and potatoes,
flavored with a mixture of chopped garlic,
parsley and pine nuts, lemon, eggs, extra virgin
olive oil, salt and pepper. The origin of the dish
probably came from aboard fishing boats, as
the rolling of the sea facilitated the mixing
of the ingredients, obtained by the energetic
movements of the cook.
30 Stockfish alla Badalucchese
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