Pasta and sauces<\/h2>\n![\"Ingredienti](\"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pesto-genovese-foto-01-1024x717.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nPesto is the sauce that identifies Liguria, and almost all Ligurian pasta is dressed with it or with walnut sauce.<\/p>\n
\n- Genoese pesto<\/a>: the mortar recipe, with the mistakes to avoid.<\/li>\n
- Testaroli<\/a>: the pasta of Lunigiana, between Tuscany and the Levante, cooked on a testo and cut into diamonds.<\/li>\n
- Pansoti with walnut sauce<\/a>: pasta filled with wild herbs and prescinseua, with a sauce that is never heated.<\/li>\n
- Mandilli de sea<\/a>: the \u00absilk handkerchiefs\u00bb, very thin sheets with pesto.<\/li>\n
- Corzetti<\/a>: the stamped discs of the Levante and the figure-of-eight corzetti of the Val Polcevera.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Bread and focaccia<\/h2>\n![\"Focaccia](\"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/focaccia-genovese-foto-01-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nEvery Ligurian bakery and caf\u00e9 has its own focaccia. The cheese focaccia of Recco is something else: you will find it in our guide to the focaccia of Recco<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n- Genoese focaccia<\/a>: thick, with olive oil and brine.<\/li>\n
- Chickpea farinata<\/a>: chickpea flour, water, oil and a very hot oven; with the socca of Nice, for readers coming from the C\u00f4te d’Azur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Fish<\/h2>\n\n- Ligurian stuffed anchovies<\/a>: fresh anchovies filled with breadcrumbs and cheese.<\/li>\n
- Cappon magro<\/a>: the dish of fish, vegetables and sailor’s biscuit, which is not capponadda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Festive and country dishes<\/h2>\n![\"Farinata](\"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/farinata-foto-01-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n- Cima alla genovese<\/a>: a stuffed veal breast, served cold.<\/li>\n
- Torta pasqualina<\/a>: herbs, prescinseua and eggs, for Easter and Easter Monday.<\/li>\n
- Frandura<\/a>: the potato dish of Montalto, in the Argentina Valley.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sweets<\/h2>\n\n- Ligurian canestrelli<\/a>: shortbread biscuits shaped like a flower.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For the typical products of a specific area, such as the amaretti of Sassello or the stockfish of Badalucco, see the amaretti of Sassello<\/a> and the stockfish of Badalucco<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhere to taste these dishes<\/h2>\n
You learn recipes at home, but the best place to taste them is their home town: in Genoa<\/a> pesto, cima, focaccia and farinata; in Recco<\/a> and Camogli<\/a> the cheese focaccia and the fish; in Rapallo<\/a> the pansoti; in Sarzana<\/a> and La Spezia<\/a> the testaroli; in Sassello<\/a> the amaretti. For wine pairings, see Ligurian wines<\/a>. For the big picture, the guide to Ligurian cuisine<\/a>.<\/p>\nFrequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\nWhat is the most famous Ligurian dish?<\/summary>\nGenoese pesto, but focaccia, farinata and anchovies matter just as much in Liguria. Each area then has its own dishes: testaroli in the Levante, frandura in the hinterland of the Ponente.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\nAre these the \u00abofficial\u00bb recipes?<\/summary>\nNo: for almost every dish there is no single recipe. We write a base version and say where the sources differ; quantities vary from family to family.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\nWhich dishes are eaten at Easter and Christmas?<\/summary>\nTorta pasqualina is the dish of Easter and Easter Monday; cima and cappon magro are festive dishes. Dates and restaurants change every year: ask on the spot.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\nWhere can I find the ingredients outside Liguria?<\/summary>\nBasil, Ligurian olive oil and prescinseua are the hardest to find. In each recipe page we list the most common substitutes and say what changes.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pesto, focaccia, farinata, testaroli and 9 more dishes: ingredients, steps, variations and where to taste them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63479,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ligurian recipes: 13 traditional dishes, one by one","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Traditional recipes from Liguria one by one: pesto, testaroli, pansoti, focaccia, farinata, cima, stuffed anchovies, torta pasqualina and more.","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"unboxed","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-63534","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Ligurian recipes: 13 traditional dishes, one by one<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Traditional recipes from Liguria one by one: pesto, testaroli, pansoti, focaccia, farinata, cima, stuffed anchovies, torta pasqualina and more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/en\/ligurian-recipes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ligurian recipes: 13 traditional dishes, one by one\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Traditional recipes from Liguria one by one: pesto, testaroli, pansoti, focaccia, farinata, cima, stuffed anchovies, torta pasqualina and more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/italian-riviera.com\/en\/ligurian-recipes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Italian 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<\/figure>\nPesto is the sauce that identifies Liguria, and almost all Ligurian pasta is dressed with it or with walnut sauce.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Genoese pesto<\/a>: the mortar recipe, with the mistakes to avoid.<\/li>\n
- Testaroli<\/a>: the pasta of Lunigiana, between Tuscany and the Levante, cooked on a testo and cut into diamonds.<\/li>\n
- Pansoti with walnut sauce<\/a>: pasta filled with wild herbs and prescinseua, with a sauce that is never heated.<\/li>\n
- Mandilli de sea<\/a>: the \u00absilk handkerchiefs\u00bb, very thin sheets with pesto.<\/li>\n
- Corzetti<\/a>: the stamped discs of the Levante and the figure-of-eight corzetti of the Val Polcevera.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Bread and focaccia<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\nEvery Ligurian bakery and caf\u00e9 has its own focaccia. The cheese focaccia of Recco is something else: you will find it in our guide to the focaccia of Recco<\/a>.<\/p>\n
- \n
- Genoese focaccia<\/a>: thick, with olive oil and brine.<\/li>\n
- Chickpea farinata<\/a>: chickpea flour, water, oil and a very hot oven; with the socca of Nice, for readers coming from the C\u00f4te d’Azur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Fish<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Ligurian stuffed anchovies<\/a>: fresh anchovies filled with breadcrumbs and cheese.<\/li>\n
- Cappon magro<\/a>: the dish of fish, vegetables and sailor’s biscuit, which is not capponadda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Festive and country dishes<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n- \n
- Cima alla genovese<\/a>: a stuffed veal breast, served cold.<\/li>\n
- Torta pasqualina<\/a>: herbs, prescinseua and eggs, for Easter and Easter Monday.<\/li>\n
- Frandura<\/a>: the potato dish of Montalto, in the Argentina Valley.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sweets<\/h2>\n
- \n
- Ligurian canestrelli<\/a>: shortbread biscuits shaped like a flower.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For the typical products of a specific area, such as the amaretti of Sassello or the stockfish of Badalucco, see the amaretti of Sassello<\/a> and the stockfish of Badalucco<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Where to taste these dishes<\/h2>\n
You learn recipes at home, but the best place to taste them is their home town: in Genoa<\/a> pesto, cima, focaccia and farinata; in Recco<\/a> and Camogli<\/a> the cheese focaccia and the fish; in Rapallo<\/a> the pansoti; in Sarzana<\/a> and La Spezia<\/a> the testaroli; in Sassello<\/a> the amaretti. For wine pairings, see Ligurian wines<\/a>. For the big picture, the guide to Ligurian cuisine<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
\nWhat is the most famous Ligurian dish?<\/summary>\n
Genoese pesto, but focaccia, farinata and anchovies matter just as much in Liguria. Each area then has its own dishes: testaroli in the Levante, frandura in the hinterland of the Ponente.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nAre these the \u00abofficial\u00bb recipes?<\/summary>\n
No: for almost every dish there is no single recipe. We write a base version and say where the sources differ; quantities vary from family to family.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nWhich dishes are eaten at Easter and Christmas?<\/summary>\n
Torta pasqualina is the dish of Easter and Easter Monday; cima and cappon magro are festive dishes. Dates and restaurants change every year: ask on the spot.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n
\nWhere can I find the ingredients outside Liguria?<\/summary>\n
Basil, Ligurian olive oil and prescinseua are the hardest to find. In each recipe page we list the most common substitutes and say what changes.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pesto, focaccia, farinata, testaroli and 9 more dishes: ingredients, steps, variations and where to taste them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63479,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ligurian recipes: 13 traditional dishes, one by one","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Traditional recipes from Liguria one by one: pesto, testaroli, pansoti, focaccia, farinata, cima, stuffed anchovies, torta pasqualina and more.","site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"unboxed","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-63534","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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- Torta pasqualina<\/a>: herbs, prescinseua and eggs, for Easter and Easter Monday.<\/li>\n
- Cappon magro<\/a>: the dish of fish, vegetables and sailor’s biscuit, which is not capponadda.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Chickpea farinata<\/a>: chickpea flour, water, oil and a very hot oven; with the socca of Nice, for readers coming from the C\u00f4te d’Azur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Testaroli<\/a>: the pasta of Lunigiana, between Tuscany and the Levante, cooked on a testo and cut into diamonds.<\/li>\n