Our typical Ligurian dishes fascinate and thrill visitors from La Spezia to Ventimiglia, crossing Ceriale. In Liguria, gourmet lovers have great satisfaction.
Pesto Genovese, Salsa di Noci, Troffie and Troffiette, Focaccia, Farinata, Panissa, excellent wines and many other specialties that distinguish us in the world.
In recent years, Italians have been mobilizing, activating strong promotional campaigns for the Pesto al Mortaio of the Ligurian tradition, also to allow it to be recognized as "Unesco's intangible heritage".
Here are some little curiosities about the history of Pesto genovese, which doesn’t seem to have very ancient origins.
The legend about the birth of the Pesto Genovese tells of a friar who lived in a convent on the heights of Prà (Genoa) named after San Basilio.
One day he picked up the aromatic herb that grew on those hills, called "basilium" in honor of San Basilio.
He joined it with a few other ingredients brought to the offer by the faithful and beaten it all, obtaining the first Pesto, which over time was perfected to become the precious sauce that it is today.
The true story is a bit different.The Pesto Genovese dates back to the first half of the nineteenth century.
It was mentioned for the first time by Giovanni Battista Ratto on his book "La cuciniera genovese", and later by Emanuele Rossi in " La vera cuciniera genovese facile ed economica ossia Maniera di preparare e cuocere ogni genere di vivande ".
In 1910 Emerico Romano Calvetti gave his own version of Pesto, calling it "battuta" or "savore d'aglio", in a work that sums up the two previous books written by Ratto and Rossi. According to extensive research, it seems that the Pesto Genovese derives from the “aggiadda” (agliata), an ancient sauce based on garlic pesto with vinegar, olive oil and salt. Ligurian gastronomy is characterized by the use of fish and aromatic herbs, already used by the Ligurians in the Middle Ages, at the time of the Maritime Republics.
At that time, the use of spices was reserved for the rich Genoese, while poor people used aromatic herbs, easily available, because in Liguria they are also born spontaneously.
The Genoese basil is just one of these aromatic herbs, which in Liguria has an exclusive aroma thanks to the particular and favorable climatic conditions, and was used for the sauce that for decades has been considered one of the most known and appreciated condiments in the world.
In our restaurant of Camping Baciccia you can taste an excellent dish of pasta with Pesto Genovese. Have you already tried?
