A few years ago we were invited by Sanremo Promotion to see the city and wider province of Imperia in Liguria. As well as the wonderul old part of Sanremo called Pigna and a trip to Taggia to see the famous olive production, we were also taken to the Olive Oil Museum of Olio Carli in Imperia. Read a full report here.

We learnt recently from Urban Italy that Olio Carli has just opened an Emporio Carli in the city. The shop is selling a huge range of olive oils as well as typical food products such as sun-dried tomatoes, vegetables under oil and, of course pesto made with their olive oil.

Here’s the original documented pesto recipe dating back at least 150 years.

This recipe is a sea food salad popular with the fishermen of Camogli in Liguria who used to eat it at sea with the typical dried bread 'gallette', a sort of table water biscuit they would soften with water.

Ingrediends

gallette dry bread, capers, anchovies, olives, tuna fish roe, olive oil, vinegar

The city of La Spezia comes under the authority of the APT Cinque Terre e Golfo dei Poeti. The territory is divided into 5 distinct portions; the city, the Gulf of La Spezia, Cinque Terre e Riviera, the Val di Magra and the Val di Vara.

La Spezia is home to Italy's largest naval presence. It was little more than a backwater before Cavour transferred the Piemontese fleet during the unification of the country (that's Piemonte without any coast!). The Naval Museum was also transferred, this time from Genova, and is the first point of call for getting under the skin of the city. It hosts an amazing collection of ship figureheads.

The wooded slopes and peaks of the hilly hinterland of the region mean the cuisine of the Ligurian valleys is notable for honey, mushrooms (notably 'porcini'), horse chestnuts and even goat and potatoes.

Yet, it is worth keeping an eye out for a cheese by the name of brùsso, a soft cheese similar to the ricotta cheese which is quite used for filling pies. Most likely to be found in the area bordering Piemonte, the cheese is almost exclusively home made.

It is produced by mixing various types of seasoned cheeses such as robiole in a terracotta pot. The mixture itself is then flavored with such heart burners as grappa, olive oil, vinegar, salt and hot pepper. It is then left to ferment before being used as a soft paste, ideally on hot toast or added to steaming polenta. Quite something.

This chestnut sweet dish is not by any means exclusive to Liguria, but each region and even locality gives it a personal twist

ingredients

500gr chestnut flour, 70gr sultanas, 40gr pine nuts, a teaspoon wild fennel seeds, extra virgin olive oil.

Ligurian mussels fish recipe with sultanas and pine nuts

ingredients

1kg mussels, 400gr spring onions or leeks, 500gr rice, tin of peeled tomatoes, 40gr sultanas, 60gr chopped pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

This recipe was sent to us by Mr. Paracucchi of the Locanda dell'Angelo, Ameglia, in the province of La Spezia.

ingredients

1 kg (Savoy) cabbage, 50g bread crumbs, 1 glass of milk, 150gr sausage meat, 20gr grated pecorino cheese, 6 spoons olive oil, 2 eggs, grated nutmeg, salt and pepper

You may wonder from what stone the sloping roofs of the traditional houses of Liguria are made of. It's called 'ardesia' and the characteristic thin grey tiles made from the stone are laid like scales of a fish to protect the occupants from the sun and rain.

The International Festival of Maiolica or 'Festival Internazionale Della Maiolica' links the towns of Genoa, Albissola, Marina, Albisola Superiore and Savona in Liguria.

For centuries they were the antique centres of pottery production in the region and also the principal trading towns with the Middle and Far East.

Not many people know that Levi Straus did not invent jeans, or blue jeans to be precise. By all accounts, we owe this style debt to the port workers of Genoa at least 3 centuries before. Due to the hardwearing and economical properties of a fabric called 'fustagno' they used the material for work clothing, drapes and bed covers.