Tales of Pesto, a Weekend in Camogli and a Ligurian Dream
More than anything it’s a story about fragrant verdant pesto, some new local dishes and our ever growing love for Liguria. Before I move to that however, let me first take you a few months back.
The New Year has brought a few changes into our lives and routine. I almost feel like correcting myself here as somehow we don’t have a routine and perhaps these fairly unpredictable times and spontaneity in our lives can be called a routine of sorts?
So far our life in Italy has had to be divided between commitments in The UK and my home town in Poland. Currently we are very busy with that but happily busy at the same time, given the strange and difficult periods of lockdowns, which hopefully we can finally put behind us.
Since we moved to Italy we haven’t owned a car. We were renting one as needed or travelled by train or plane. And it has worked for us so far, until recently.
The reason behind not having a car was that when we lived in Rome we had all the amenities at our door steps making our lives and travels easy to manage. The limited traffic zone for the Tridente part of the Historic Centre of Rome, where we lived, as well as the availability of a parking space, or rather lack of it, was a problematic affair. In Venice, as you can imagine, there isn’t much car use, problem solved.
But now in Florence things have changed for us and we have organised ourselves with a permanent means of transport. We are now proudly independent and mobile, and take advantage of it when time allows, which means mostly at weekends.
We know Florence fairly well by now and it was high time to make the most of its „stratigic” positioning and start visiting parts of Italy north of Rome. First we went to Siena (more than once because we love it) and Bologna, by train for convenience. Next it was Lucca, Arezzo, Anghiari, Cortona to name but a few and the Tuscan coast for the seafood, and for the sheer pleasure of seeing this part of the world „crowded” with locals only. Weekends are tricky at this time (pre-Easter) of year and the reason behind it is that many restaurants outside major towns are still closed or open for weekends only, hence a lunch or dinner reservation is highly recommended, trust me on that one.
Very often we just set off for a day and the main activity evolves around lunch. A few weeks ago we went to La Spezia for a meal and after that we drove to Portovenere, which was as busy as ever. Tuscany and Liguria are neighbouring regions but it does feel like almost travelling to a different country, especially gastronomically.
I had booked us for lunch in La Spezia. The restaurant was unassuming from the outside but very elegant and traditional inside, with white table clothes, dark walls and furniture. A long running establishment that has seen many generations enjoying their meals at these premises. The food was a sheer delight. Sophisticated without being over the top, a fine balance which is most important. To my joy I finally had my first ever cappon magro. It’s a very elaborate traditional Ligurian dish, beautiful to see and eat, but it’s also time consuming to prepare.You will not find it in every Ligurian restaurant. It requires fresh fish, shellfish and seasonal vegetables like cauliflower, green beens, artichokes, carrots, broad beans and so forth. Every component is carefully cooked (separately) and then layered on a serving plate, starting with the vegetables first, resembling a pyramid. As you can imagine it’s quite a spectacular affair.
Since that moment we knew we had to go back to Liguria soon. So we did.
Liguria, a tiny narrow arc on the sea below Piedmont, stretching from the border with France to Tuscany. Liguria is all hills that rise up spectacularly from the sea into the high mountains of the Alps and the Apennines. Perched on the coast towns and fishing villages attract, dare I say, almost everyone with their cosy bays and pastel coloured buildings, which in the old days served to help the fishermen find their way home. It is such a lovely and romantic story behind these colourful palazzi, especially when they still form part of a working fishing village with the men folding their nets deftly after their morning’s catch.
Camogli is exactly all of the above. Charming, peaceful, colourful and with lots of working fishing boats. We went there (not for the first time) not so long ago, in mid march. Although the weather had just turned and the wind was a bit chilly and the sun shy, it was one of those kind of trips where I long to return as soon as I leave. It wasn’t just my feeling, the Dégustateur loved every minute and bite of it too. We started our weekend with snacking on soft focaccia and a whole baked fish with artichokes and potatoes, all accompanied by a generous glass of a crisp Pecorino wine. I still dream of that lunch. Dinner was also a delicious surprise. After portions of raw sweet langoustines and red prawns, unique to the deep Ligurian waters, I ordered chestnut trofie pasta with pesto, dotted with green beans and small cubes of potatoe. The Dégustatuer and I utterly enjoyed the combination of chestnut and basil, to the point that I bought myself e new pestle and mortar just for making pesto and trying out new recipes at home. Making a chestnut pasta at home is not what I was planning to do. Instead, I had little pillowy soft chestnut gnocchi in mind, to be tossed with freshly made pesto, an ode to spring.
Ligurians adore herbs but it’s the basil that is like a Ligurian flag to them. They grow basil in every available space: on little plots of land, in window boxes, vases or anywhere around the house. The basil, like all the herbs that grow in Liguria, is highly perfumed, and when crushed it releases such a wonderful scent, that it is worthwhile and most satisfying to use a mortar rather than a blender.
The secret of a beautifully aromatic pesto lies in the quality of the basil and the perfect sweet leaves to pick are the smallest ones. Make your pesto when the herb is plentiful, buy a few big pots (rather than little packets of leaves) and select the tastiest leaves. Make a larger quantity of it and keep it under oil in the fridge for a few months.
There are only six ingredients that make up pesto: nuts, garlic, salt, basil, olive oil and cheese. Some people use almonds or even walnuts, but I like to add ever so slightly toasted pine nuts. Then there is cheese. There are those who favour parmesan and those who opt for pecorino (from Sardegna!), or a concoction of both. It is truly a matter of a personal taste and fun to play with the ingredients. If using a mortar, there is a certain sequence to follow which makes the best creamy paste. First smash the garlic with the salt, next add the nuts and crush them, but be careful not to over work them. Next drop the basil leaves and work them as quickly as you can. Then add your cheese and finally the oil. Now you should have an imbued with a fresh green colour Ligurian pesto. If you can, buy a very delicate in flavour olive oil from The Riviera, which will not be overpowering the delicacy of the basil.
Surely there will be times when you will use a blender. In that case make sure that the blade is sharp turning very fast all the ingredients into a paste. Otherwise, under the generated heat, the leaves will loose their fresh colour and your pesto risks turning dull.
On this occasion I’m preparing my pesto with the pecorino Sardo and to celebrate the arrival of spring I’ll cook a minestrone soup (a delicate vegetable soup using seasonal ingredients) and once it’s served on the plates I’ll stir in some pesto. The released aromas are just tantalising and the minestrone boasts all things fresh, subtle and is just heaven to eat.
There are manifold ways of using pesto and another fabulous way to enjoy it during the forthcoming warmer days of spring is to make a tuna, pearl barley and pesto salad, dotted around with olives, preferably Ligurian, and the best possible tomatoes you can find in season.
Torte salate, savoury pies, are something you will always find in Liguria and they are just lovely.They are made either with swiss chard, spinach or borage, mixed with a local cheese and flavoured with herbs like oregano or marjoram. Whilst assembling the pie you could make a few wells, drop a cracked egg in each and bake everything in order to get an Easter Pie Torta Pasqualina. Sadly borage is almost impossible to find here in Florence limiting my culinary options. Having to choose I’ll almost always select swiss chard for the pie above spinach.
During our weekend in Camogli, on the Saturday morning we took a ferry to finally visit The Abbey of San Fruttuoso (as previously the sea was too unstable and ferries were cancelled), which can be reached only by the sea or by precarious hiking trails. A real gem and a very picturesque journey. Once we returned we ran for a decent portion of focaccia di Recco for lunch. We ate it sitting on the benches outside the bakery, joining everyone else. You see, this is not an ordinary focaccia or a pillowy bread. This focaccia consists of paper thin layers of dough with a soft cheese sandwiched in between and is sold warm. A pure joy, especially when eaten by the waterfront and kissed by the sun. Rather than trying to make a poor imitation of it at home I’d rather go back to Liguria and have it there. It’s one of those things that are hard to replicate without proper ovens.
But what I can do at home is to master sardenaira, a typical pizza of Sanremo. It actually looks more like a pillowy focaccia which can be very confusing. The pizza is rich with a tomato, caper, taggiasche olives and anchovy topping. We can’t forget about the ever present Ligurian herbs in this recipe, which I will be delighted to share with You once I’m fully happy wit it.
