Blue is a new magazine dedicated to Genoa and Liguria. Blue is launched as a way of improving communication, with the ambition of reaching Ligurian people as well as an international audience potentially interested in what happens in our cities and region.
The section about typical food and wine of Liguria is edited by Palatifini.
In the April number, the first of Blue – we explained the extra–virgin olive oil produced on the Liguria Riviera. Here is where some Benedictine monks selected the black “oliva taggiasca”, hundreds of years ago, that gives a light, sweet flavoured oil. Thanks to its tree geographical areas, Riviera dei Fiori, Riviera di Ponente and Riviera di Levante, Liguria is the third Italian producer of DOP oil.
In the May number – beans with salami from Sant’Olcese are a special gourmet combination that signal the start of summer in Liguria. Fresh and raw beans, the Sant’Olcese salami, typical salami dried over a high flame according to local tradition, small pieces of the fresh Sardinian cheese, a good glass of wine, better if white and from Val Polcevera or the Tigullio, and that’s it: you will not find no one who at the mention of beans and salami doesn’t answer with a smile.
In the June number – we talked about the bouillabaisse, the typical fish’s soup of Marsiglia, the city that on 2013 will be the European capital of the culture. This typical dish, the “buiabesa” for ligurian people, is prepared with twelve different kinds of fish – some rare like the Sanpietro – and saffron, that gives the characteristic gold color. In literature this soup is called “soup of Afrodite”: the legend says that goddess Afrodite prepared this soup for the god Volcano, so that he fell asleep and so she could stay with her own lovers.
In the July number – the ice cream becomes a good friend to handle the long and hot summer. In Liguria, ice cream has been tradition for hundreds of years, the first recipes date to the eighteen-hundreds. The “paciugo” and “panera” flavours are in fact Ligurian. Today, the ice cream makers, experiment new flavours with the objective of startling and moving your clients. Try the melon flavour, it would appear that prosciutto and melon ice cream is loved by big and small. The last experiment is shrimp ice cream: don’t judge it too soon, try it!
In the August number – we talked about focaccia, the uncontested queen of the ligurian specialties. Dry and crunchy in the “classic” version, with onions or with olives, sometimes sweet, however you eat it, focaccia is a delight, the ideal in every moment of the day. For the Genovese people, it’s a ritual that starts in the morning when they dip it in their coffee (try it before you turn up your nose), continues as a mid-day snack and ends cut up in small pieces for the aperitif before dinner. For beach-goers, it’s the ideal lunch between swims and sunny naps. For the children, it’s a favourite snack. Try it!
In the September number – we explained the….”table flowers”! Usually you smell them, pick them, give or recive them as gifts. Here we would like to recommend them also in the form of syrups, sweets, jams, salads or even fried. They are “edible” flowers or rather, their petals: pink ones or purple of the “musk” rose, bright purple of violets, the red of poppies and the white of elderflowers. Red poppy plants are recommended for fritters, elderflowers are offered fried and then lightly covered with sugar. As well as being tasty, they are also very pretty to look at!
In the October number – we talked about a new generation of master brewers in Liguria. They have started producing small quantities of traditional beer in recent years: paying scrupulous attention to the quality of the product (as proven by many awards, international ones among them), using typical local ingredients in the recipes (such as chestnut flour from the Genoa hinterland or Savona chinotto), they are also committed to suggesting the best combinations of their beer with traditional Ligurian dishes. Beer making is something of a tradition in this area, as the first Italian brewery opened in Busalla, in the province of Genoa in 1878.
In the November number – we explained the chestnuts and the thousand ways to cook one of the most popular fruits in Liguria. Among the first course dishes, rice with chestnuts is delicious – here the secret is lots of milk and parsley. Aside from fresh pasta, in addition to the already mentioned trofiette, the ‘picagge matte’ distinguish themselves for tastiness and typicality. These are rather wide fettuccine (the name comes from ‘picaggia’ which in the Genoese dialect means the cook’s apron strings) kneaded with half chestnut flour and half white flour – a definite must with pesto!And then there are the desserts: you have to try the chestnut cake (castagnaccio) (or even try and make it yourself, the recipe is published here) or the Montoggio doughnuts, which are the same shape as biscuits but with a slight smell of chestnuts.
And to December….. discover it in newspaper kiosk!