Pesto is a sauce originating in Genoa and in Liguria. It is made of basil, pine nuts blended with oliva oil, Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan Cheese) and garlic, even if garlic can be considered optional. My mother doesn’t use it and in my opinion it’s much better.

The name means “to crush, to pound” and it refers to the original method of preparation with marble mortar and wooden pestle. It’s important not to heat up the basil during the preparation. All the ingredients are raw.

Even if the marble mortar is the best way to prepare it, today we generally use the mincer paying attention not to heat up too much the ingredients.

The typical pasta served with pesto are the “trofie“. Sometimes we add potatoes and green beans.

If you want to taste it, let us know. My mother will be happy to prepare it for you. 

The Ligurian cuisine is rich of vegetables. Try also the stuffed vedetables and the farinata – a sort of fried focaccia / omelette of chickpeans flour. You can also find a good farinata in Ovada (10 km from us) or in Rossiglione itself (in the grocery stores).

Apart from pesto and farinata, you don’t have to miss the “focaccia al formaggio” in Recco (a small village in the Riviera from Genova to La Spezia, click here to see the map)

or the ravioli, stuffed with meat or vegetables and cheese, typical in Rossiglione and Ovada.