Other Definitions
italian riviera (dest)
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Italian-riviera The cuisine of the Ponente Ligure is green, fragrant, with simple ingredients cleverly mixed together. But it is also a very light cuisine, almost vegetarian with flavors very closely tied to olives. Some dishes, such as "cappon magro" are the best expression of the mixture of products deriving from the earth and the sea. The Ligurian cooking has taken its peculiarity from other influences such as those from the Middle East, Spain and North Africa, having passed long periods of contact and exchange. We find a wide use of vegetables and herbs used in preparation of fillings for pastry covered dishes, stuffed veal, soups, and the magnificent "pesto" (basil sauce). A wide use of "white" meats is customary: chicken, rabbit, or pasture meats such as goat, lamb, not to forget wild boar and snails. Pine nuts, walnuts, olives, and mushrooms appear often, as also fritters, bread foccacce, and pizzas are widely eaten. Blue fish prevails: sardines and anchovies and sea bass, salt cod, stockfish. In the pastas, ravioli are placed on top of the list followed by pansoti (pasta filled with herbs and greens), trofie, trenette, gnocchi. The oven cooked flat cheese garnished "focaccia" bread of Recco is a marriage of ancient and simple flavours, the intense and fresh fragrance of soft "stracchino" cheese spread overa thin layer of bread. Then the "trofie" which, in their elongate and somewhat knaggy shape, carry the patient marks of the housewives who have formed these little noodles, one by one, with an expert and skilful touch; a rite of former times, crowned by the encounter of pasta and pesto, the savoury sauce of Liguria. Gastronomy and good healt go arm in the paradise of Mediterranean diet and the extra virgin olive oil dignifies a light and digestible menu. Local fresh fish is generally small in size and is served either fried, charcoal grilled, with potatoes or as a ciuppin soup. Ligurian anchovies are a highly prized dish, especially those coming from the Cinque Terre and Monterosso areas. They are easily recognized by their small size, hardly ever exceeding ten centimeters in length, and their color, the head and belly a silvery light gray with a dark blue-black back. These anchovies may be served in a variety of ways: raw with an olive oil and lemon dressing; with garlic and parsley; pan-cooked with potatoes; fried or better still, pickled. The bianchetti, anchovy and sardine fry fished in January and February, are a rare morsel indeed. They may be served either raw or dunked in boiling water and then dressed with just a few drops of olive oil and lemon or, as is more customary, mixed with flour and egg and fashioned into small fritters. Last but by no means least, the wines: wine production on Liguria's typical terraced hill sides has a well established and long standing tradition. Sciacchetrà , a very particular sweet wine produced in the Cinque Terre district, is one of the best known Italian wines.
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