THE FOODS OF LIGURIA

Ligurians, whose ancestors once dominated northwestern Italy and southeastern France, were noted as seafaring traders long before their famous son Christopher Columbus opened channels for foods from America. Pasta tubes called macheronis were cooked in the 13th century by the Genoese, who spread the cult of noodles to other Italian ports and over the Apennines to Emilia. Ancient Ligurians made polenta and breads from the flour of dried chickpeas and chestnuts. It's been speculated that a form of pasta originated there as the lasagnette strips of chestnut flour that still appear on traditional menus.

CONDIGGION
Ingredients:
4 gallette (sea-biscuits)
4 tbs. olive oil
8 oz. tomatoes, peeled and seeded, (not sliced)
6 oz. sweet peppers, cut into strips
1 fresh cucumber, sliced
6 oz. fish roe (bottarga or musciame) thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 head leafy lettuce
1 tbs. vinegar
few basil leaves
salt to taste

Preparation:
Drizzle the sea-biscuits with water and vinegar. They should not soak through entirely, just get them wet to soften. They will become soft and not soggy. Remove the excess liquid and place into a salad bowl, sprinkle with a few drops of oil.

Wash and cut up the vegetables, keeping them separate, and set aside. Chop the garlic and basil and set aside. Slice the fish roe into fine slices and set aside.
Now place lettuce leaves on top of the gallette, season with oil, vinegar, the chopped basil and garlic, and salt. Add a layer of musciame, a layer of tomatoes, a layer of cucumber and a layer of sweet peppers. Add oil and vinegar again.
Repeat starting from lettuce, seasoning each layer as you go along. The last layer should be the air-dried fish. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

PANIZZA
Ingredients:
9 oz. chickpea flour
4 tbs. olive oil
4 cups water
scallions
salt and pepper

Preparation:
Sieve the chickpea flour finely. Pour it slowly in hot water and stir and stir. Cook slowly for about on hour, stirring often. The mixture will come off the sides of the pot when ready. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into serving dishes, drizzle with oil, chopped scallions, salt and pepper and serve hot.

PESTO
Pesto comes from the verb pestare, meaning to crush or beat. Pesto is a very old sauce, especially in cities on the sea, often hedged in by mountains and enemy fleets that might prevent access to food. In fact, all ingredients used in pesto can be kept for long periods while the basil could be easily grown on the windowsills and preserved in oil for a long time.

Pesto is most associated with Genoa, on the Ligurian sea, where this very popular condiment is said to have been created. The basil there has a particular scent and is not too reminiscent of mint.
Ingredients:
8 oz. very fresh basil (if possible, use leaves from plants not yet in blossom)
1/2 cup pine nuts (or toasted walnut kernels)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tbs. Parmigiano
1 tbs. Pecorino
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt

Preparation:
Wash the basil leaves and dry with a clean cloth. Place in a mortar. Add pine nuts, the garlic and a pinch of salt. Pound these ingredients with a circular motion of the pestle. Carry on until you achieve a soft green paste. Put the paste in a bowl and gradually drip in the oil. Mix well and set aside. Add cheese just before using, and more oil if necessary.

The preferred pasta with pesto is trenette. Boil the water with the addition of a finely sliced potato. Cook pasta in the usual manner, drain, reserve a small amount of the water. Before dressing the pasta add a little bit of the water to the bowl with pesto and gently stir in order to obtain a fluid creamy sauce.

Toss the pasta with pesto (the potatoes will have disintegrated to form a grainy texture on each string of pasta so the sauce can cling better to it). Add a little cooking water if the pasta is too dry. Toss well and serve immediately. Pesto may also be used for minestrone genovese.

PESTO DI FAVE
Of Ligurian origin, this particular version of pesto comes from the Western part of the Ligurian coast stretching from Genoa to the French border. It is served as dressing for boiled meats.
Ingredients:
a handful of fresh fava beans
2-3 leaves fresh mint
3-4 cloves garlic
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt

Preparation:
Pod a handful of fresh fava beans removing the cuticle. Put them in a mortar with 2-3 leaves of fresh mint and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Pound well while adding extra-virgin olive oil as with normal pesto. Add salt to taste.

SALSA DI NOCI
Walnuts are widely used in Italian cookery in a variety of preparations, best known being the recipes from Liguria.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. walnuts, shelled
2 oz. fresh, crustless bread
3 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs. fresh marjoram
salt
1 clove garlic
1 cup cream

Preparation:
Scald the walnuts, and peel off the skins. Dip the bread in water and squeeze out most of it. In a mortar pound the walnuts together with the bread, garlic, marjoram and salt to achieve a smooth paste. Place the mixture into a mixing bowl, drip in the olive oil, stirring constantly. Add the cream, stir well. This sauce is ready to use. In the original Ligurian recipe, soured milk, called prescinseua in dialect, is added instead of cream. It can be replaced with plain yogurt.

POMODORI ESSICCATI
In Italy, this preparation is best done at the end of July or on the first 20 days of August, when the sun is very hot, so the tomatoes will be very dry and perfectly ripe.
Ingredients:
ripe, firm, medium size tomatoes
basil leaves
salt
extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation:
Clean the tomatoes with a wet towel, cut them in half length-wise, remove the seeds, put them over a grate with the open side up, and sprinkle liberally with salt (if they are not salted enough, they will become moldy).

Leave them in the sun for 4-5 days, turning occasionally, and taking them indoors at night. At the end of each day, drain the water they will have oozed. On the last day, wash the basil leaves and let them dry over a cloth in the shade. Put the tomatoes halves back together, placing a basil leaf in the middle of the cut, and press well. Then place them in layers in a clean, dry jar. Press well, add some peperoncino and a clove garlic if you wish, cover the tomatoes completely with oil, close the jar with an airtight cover and store it. They will be ready for consumption in 2 weeks.

Tomatoes prepared like this can be served as part of an antipasto or as side dish for boiled and broiled meats.

LUMACHE ALLA LIGURE
Ingredients:
5 salted anchovies
1 bottle dry white wine
1 sprig rosemary
2 cloves garlic, fully minced
2 oz. olive oil
1 1/2 oz. basil, finely minced
48 snails
48 large croutons
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Fillet and finely mince the anchovies. Sauté them with rosemary and garlic in olive oil until the anchovies disintegrate. Add the snails. Stir and moisten with white wine, 1 cup at a time. When the wine evaporates, add salt and pepper and continue to cook for half an hour over low heat, moistening with more wine when necessary.

Before serving, add the basil and serve snails on croutons topped with their own sauce.

Note: Finely sliced mushrooms may be added after moistening with wine.
Cima alla Genovese
Ingredients:
3 slices white bread, crusts removed
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 pound boneless pork, ground twice
1/4 pound veal, ground twice
1/4 pound fresh pork fat, ground twice
1 small calf's sweetbread, blanched 10 minutes and finely chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound fresh spinach, cooked, squeezed dry and chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1 cup fresh or defrosted frozen peas
a 4- to 5-pound breast of veal(ask the butcher to bone it and cut into it a pocket for stuffing)
3 hard cooked eggs, peeled
bones and trimmings from the breast of veal, if available
1 onion, cut in half
3 whole garlic cloves
1 carrot peeled
1 bay leaf
2 parsley sprigs
3 quarts fresh or canned chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Soak the white bread in the milk for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet, and over moderate heat cook the chopped onions in the butter for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are transparent but not brown. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl, and add the ground pork, veal, pork fat, the chopped sweetbread, grated Parmesan cheese, chopped spinach, marjoram, thyme, salt and the egg. Knead all the ingredients together with your hands or beat them with a wooden spoon until they are well mixed and fluffy. Squeeze the soaked bread dry and mix it in with the other ingredients. Then gently fold in the shelled pistachio nuts and peas.

Spread about half of this stuffing evenly in the veal pocket and on top of the stuffing arrange the hard-cooked eggs lengthwise in a row. Spoon in the rest of the stuffing, covering the eggs completely. Sew up the opening of the pocket with strong kitchen thread.

Place the bones and trimmings (if available), onion halves, garlic cloves, carrot, bay leaf and parsley in a large soup pot or kettle and lay the stuffed veal on top of them. Add enough stock or water to cover the meat completely, and grind in a little black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover the pot and simmer as gently as possible for 1 1/4 hours, or until the veal is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

Transfer the stuffed veal to a large, heavy, shallow baking dish and let it cool to room temperature. Then place the dish in the refrigerator until the meat is thoroughly chilled. Serve cold, cut into 1/4- inch slices.

Buon appetito!

 

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