Liguria and Genoa cuisine - By food author Howard Hillman

Liguria/Genoa cuisine

Food tips you can trust

Pesto is
Liguria and Genoa'
s most famous specialty

Birthplace

The region of Liguria is the birthplace of pesto, that fragrant, thick, green sauce that is now prepared by cooks around the world.

How pesto is
authentically made

Pesto is made by pounding its ingredients together with a pestle (hence, the name) in a mortar. The essential ingredients are basil, garlic, Parmesan and Sardinian ewe's milk cheeses, along with pine nuts and olive oil. This last ingredient, olive oil, is Liguria's chief cooking oil and creates one of the several exceptions to the "butter in the north" rule.

How Ligurians use pesto

They have discovered many ways, including liberally adding a dollop on their trenette (egg noodles), as well as on their versions of minestrone (soup) and potato flour gnocchi dumplings.