Show notes
The northwestern region of Liguria, which slivers up from theÌýTuscan border toward southern France, brushing Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont along the way, birthed some of Italy’s biggest culinary icons (thinkÌýfocacciaÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýpesto alla genovese).ÌýBut the cuisine is far more complex than it gets credit forÌý— with variations up and down the western and eastern portions of the riviera and farther inland.Ìý
For our inaugural Sound Bite with Italy MagazineÌý— our snack-sized, short-form audio taste of different ½ûÂþÌìÌà territoriesÌý—Ìýwe spoke with Ligurian culinary experts and cookbook authors Enrica Monzani and Laurel Evans, who helped us debunk some enduring misconceptions about the area’s food.
Ìý— a culinary researcher, experience leader, writer and home cook — is Genoese, through and through, and rebuilt her career around her home region’s cuisine after spending 15 years as a maritime lawyer. She is the author of the bilingual cookbook Liguria in Cucina: The Flavours of LiguriaÌýand also writes a newsletter, Taste of Liguria.
Based between Milan and Moneglia, north of the Cinque Terre, Texas-bornÌýÌýestablished her name on the culinary circuit with four cookbooks in ½ûÂþÌìÌà on classic American cuisine, and more recently shifted her focus to writing about Ligurian cuisine for English-speaking audiences, including inÌýLiguria, The Cookbook.ÌýYou may recognize her from an appearance in season 2 ofÌýSearching for ItalyÌýwith Stanley Tucci on CNN.
Audio credits
Development: Alexa Ahern
Concept and co-hosts: Alexa Ahern, Mary Gray
Guests: Laurel Evans, Enrica Monzani
Editing: Kirsten Hills
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Get more Liguria
Ìý
If this Sound Bite whet your appetite for more Liguria, you’ll want to check out thisÌý80+-page issue ofÌýBellissimo, our quarterly e-magazine for Premium Members. Here’s what’s inside:
- Learn why the iconicÌýSanremo Music FestivalÌýis the only truly national ½ûÂþÌìÌà event,Ìýbreaking down demographic, geographic, and ideological barriers
- Unlock theÌýbeauty of the Riviera di LevanteÌýbeyond overhyped, overcrowded Portofino
- Follow one writer to Seborga,ÌýLiguria’s own mini-Monaco,Ìýto meetÌýHer Serene Highness Princess Nina,Ìýwho’s living out aÌýGrace Kelly story
- Climb theÌýnarrow, earthy lanes and old mule tracks known asÌýcreuzeÌýin search of one Genoese hill town’s vanishing past
- Expand your Ligurian palate and learnÌýhow to make much more than just pestoÌýat home
- Sample Recco’s legendaryÌýfocaccia, follow Lord ByronÌýtoÌýPorto Venere, peep theÌýcoastal viewsÌýalong one new beginner-friendly biking route and theÌýcityscapes as seen from Genoa’s cable cars and lifts
- Plus, getÌýpriceless intel onÌýwhere to eat, sleep and exploreÌýall alongÌýthis magical narrow strip of northwestern Italy
to getÌýallÌýfuture issues (as well as the full back catalog), or unlock the single issue here.
Ligurian recipes fromÌýItaly Magazine
Premium Members also get access to our entire archive of recipes. Below, check out a few Ligurian and Liguria-inspired favorites, both traditional and more loose and contemporary.
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This Pasta With Marjoram Pesto is Inspired by 14th-Century Genoese Coins
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This White Pesto From Liguria is a Prime Example ofÌýCucina Bianca
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