Pasticceria Villa di Profumo’s shelves are
painted in pistachio hues and laden with
cakes (including a marvellous version of
pandolce, the local Christmas cake), boxes
of chocolates and twinkling, old-fashioned
glass jars of sweets. Maurizio Profumo
— who runs the family business with his
brother Marco — leads me out of the shop
and down a narrow alleyway to another of
their shops, Gelateria Profumo, home of
award-winning gelato.
“We’ve become famous for our gelato,”
he says. “It’s not common gelato. It’s made
by people who have real pastry skills; the
zabaglione [a milk, cream and sugar base for
the gelato] we use is made in the pastry shop.
We don’t buy in any products; we even make
our own candied fruits. We make the gelato
fresh every morning, with no additives.”
Genoa’s old town is a maze of alleyways
and tiny streets, known as carruggi. The
novelist Henry James described it as ‘the
most winding and incoherent of cities...
the most entangled topographical ravel in
the world’, but it’s precisely this that makes
Genoa so charming. It’s such a wonderful
place to lose yourself, stumbling across
gems of churches, hidden restaurants and
fascinating little shops by happenstance
rather than design.Down by the port, I seek out Antica
Friggitoria Carega. Friggitorie are shops that
sell fried ish and vegetables, and here, black
cauldrons of oil are being heated over wood.
I try squid, anchovies, and another tiny ish
called pignolini, and ponder the local saying
‘even a shoe tastes good when it’s fried’.
Cucina povera (‘cooking of the poor’)
inluences much of the food here. This is
the birthplace of ravioli, the name of which
comes from the word ‘rabiole’, meaning
letovers. Squeezed between the sea and the
mountains, Liguria has very little fertile
land, so hardy crops such as chickpeas and
chestnuts are mainstays. They’re also turned
into lours, to be used in beloved dishes such
as farinata — a pancake-like snack made
of chickpea lour, olive oil, salt and pepper,
eaten fresh from the oven (try it at Antica
Sciamadda, where the wood-ired oven is
almost 200 years old).
Known as La Superba, meaning ‘the
arrogant’ or ‘the proud’, Genoa is a largely
conservative city where many people are
suspicious of change, which contributed to
much of its youth leaving in recent years,
in search of excitement and modernity
elsewhere. But many are returning with the
belief that their hometown is on the cusp of
great things. One of them is Daniele Rebosio,THE COOK
Genoa’s only Michelin-starred
restaurant combines traditional
Genoese dishes with modern
techniques. Try seppia carbonara,
where the ‘spaghetti’ is thin strips
of sot, slow-cooked cuttleish.
It’s topped with egg and pecorino,
cheese foam and a drop of squid
ink. Other dishes include crudo
de mare (a raw seafood platter)
and scucuzun, a tiny Genoese
pasta, served with clams and
spring vegetables. Three courses
from around £62 per person.
thecookrestaurant.comANTICA SÄ PESTA
One of Genoa’s most popular
historic restaurants, this place is
family-run with communal tables
and a friendly atmosphere. Crispy
farinata is cooked in the wood
oven in vast pans, and another
speciality is the delicious Genoese
vegetable pie. Alternatively, try
a plate of home-made tagliatelle
with fresh pesto, accompanied by
pitchers of house wine. Expect a
long queue on Saturdays, and it’s
closed throughout the summer.
Three courses from around £20
per person. sapesta.itMERCATO ORIENTALE RISTORANTE
The old market has been
completely overhauled, though
the traditional shopping area
remains at the front. Chef
Daniele Rebosio heads up the
restaurant on the irst loor,
where dishes include beef tongue
topped with borage lowers and
capers; and rare tuna in pastry,
served with seasonal vegetables
and soya. Three courses from
£36 per person. moggenova.it/
mercatorientale-ristoranteA TASTE OF
GenoaIMAGES: XEDUM; PAOLO PICCIOTTO
FROM LEFT: Dining al
fresco at Piazza delle Erbe;
octopus dish, The CookOctober 2019 63EAT