Food and wine

Traditional dishes and products / What to eat in Liguria

Ligurian gastronomy tastefully reveals the character of the area and the ingenuity of its people. Indeed, through simple cooking, packed with vegetables and aromatic herbs, and a generous helping of Taggiasco olive oil, and accompanied by a particular creativity, Ligurians have created authentic, tasty and extraordinarily attractive dishes.

The most famous specialities from Ligurian cuisine are: pesto and focaccia – both the simple oil version and its tasty variations with onion or cheese – farinata, and panissa.

Filled pasta, like traditional ravioli and the typical pansotti (filled with chard, eggs and ricotta); “herb cakes”, such as torta Pasqualina (a puff pastry tart filled with cooked chard or artichokes, courgettes and spring herbs, eggs and cheese); cima (a stuffing of vegetables, cheeses and meat and eggs wrapped in veal), the stuffed (or fried) courgette flowers.

Of course, there are many seafood specialities including fish soup and varied dishes such as ciuppin, buridda and capponada.

For a mixed fried fish platter, locally caught fish wins hands down: red mullet, bogue, picarel, squid, anchovies and sardines, well fried in Taggiasco olive oil. Cod triumphs above all in the tasty and crispy fritters.

Among the traditional desserts we can find frisceu (apple fritters), castagnaccio, chestnut flour cake: quaresimali; toasted bread (biscotti del lagaccio) canestrelli; pinolate (based on almonds and pine nuts); amaretti (of Piedmontese origin); gobeletti (shortcrust pastry filled with jam, according to some the oldest Genovese dessert) and the famous candied fruits and flowers (rose petals, violets) as well as the delicious honey produced by the Benedictine monks of the Finalpia Monastery.

The cultivation of vineyards in Liguria has a long-established tradition and produces high-quality wines, among which the DOCs Vermentino, Pigato, Rossese, and the two IGTs Granaccia and Lumassina stand out. By visiting the cellars of small local producers you can sample these specialities.

You can also visit the ancient oil mills and centuries-old olive groves, where you can taste the oil and buy it directly

You can try all these marvels in the many traditional restaurants or at the local festivals that characterise Finale summers. 

The festivals are organised by local associations, and offer traditional dishes with home cooking at excellent prices.They are characterised by conviviality combined with good food.