The Land of Liguria

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Centuries ago, Liguria was populated by Liguri people who were expert traders and had a lot of interaction with other regions on the Mediterranean Sea. In the 1500s, the Liguri population traveled to many different areas including Northern Africa, England, Asia, and Spain. You may know this, but Christopher Columbus was Genovese, but why did he start his trip around the world in Spain? Well, the Genovese people were great bankers who dealt with the wealth of Spain. At the time of his trip, he was in Spain for this reason.

Due to their location and small size of only 26 km wide at the most, a lot of their food was influenced by other regions. The mountains stretch right through the region, therefore they have difficulty growing many things. For them, fish and wild herbs are very important in their cuisine. They do not have rice or cows, therefore their cuisine is different from many others. The had a lot of smaller animals like lamb and rabbit because the sloping hills would not be suitable for a cow. Although they do not grow wheat, they are the second largest producer of pasta shapes only to Sicily. They have many different kinds of doughs made with or without eggs. A specific pasta, Mandil De Seaa, comes from an Arabic tradition. This pasta is super thin and is special to the Ligurian people. 

Oliva Taggiasca is typical to the Riviera di Ponente is excellent for extra virgin olive oil and also for the table. 

Fun Fact of the Day
Lets talk about the DOP and IGP products of Liguria! 
Olio Extra Vergine di Oliva Riviera Ligure DOP: This is an olive oil produce in Liguria made with at least 50% taggiasca oilves (For Riviera dei Fiori there must be 90% taggiasca olives)

Basilico Genovese DOP: This Basil is specific to Genova and can not be purchased anywhere else!

Focaccia di Recco col Formaggio IGP: This is a focaccia made with a soft cheese spread in between the two layers creating a very thin product. It must be eaten hot! 

Acciuge Sotto Sale del Mar Ligure IGP: These are anchovies specific to the Liguria region. 

Today I prepared Acciughe Ripiene, a dish made with fresh anchovies, lettuce, bread, capers, grana padano cheese, and pine nuts. The anchovies are stuffed with a filling and topped with pine nuts. The lettuce was blanched, something I had never seen, but the flavor of the stuffing from the bread soaked in milk to the capers, had a good, rustic flavor. The anchovies led the dish though, with their strong and delicious flavor. 

 I also made meringue cookies filled with a whipped cream and pomegranate marmalade. I was not a fan of the shells individually, but with the cream filling, I thought they were pretty good. I want to next time try making the shells a different flavor. 

Logan made Faina torta di ceni, which is a chickpea flour base that is then baked. It has a different flavor, but is full of protein. It was prepared with green onion, oil, salt, and pepper. Simply delicious! 

With love, 
Baylee 

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