the executive chef at Mercato Orientale
Ristorante, above the newly refurbished
market, Mercato Orientale Genova.
“People in Genoa normally go abroad to
work, because this never used to be a city
for your ideas. I let at 18 because my city
gave me nothing from my point of view. But
I’ve returned aged 23 and I’m very grateful
that things are changing. We want to do
something diferent here,” he says. “There
are 2,900 restaurants in Genoa, and 2,800
do pasta with pesto sauce. I’m interested in
experimenting. I use local ingredients, but
diferent techniques. Pesto is uncommon
with rice, so I make rice with basil pesto, one
with pecorino, one with balsamic.”
Matteo Caruso and his stepbrother,
Andrea Cremone, also feel certain that Genoa
is at a turning point, and so, two years ago
they turned their family latteria (milk shop)
into Tazze Pazze, a gourmet cofee house.
Sitting outside in the medieval Piazza delle
Cinque Lampadi, Matteo tells me the pair
have travelled the world to ind cofee beans,
and they take them to a roastery with very
precise instructions.
“In Italy, we maintain a quality of espresso
that’s good, but the beans are roasted too
dark. You burn all the taste that way,” he says,
presenting me with a gorgeous cappuccino
and a slice of salty focaccia to dip in it.
Yet, for all its culinary developments,
Genoa’s most famous taste remains pesto al
mortaio (mortar-made pesto), also known as
pesto genovese, which dates back centuries.
At MaddAlive, a bar and event space in
the basement of the old Palazzo Cattaneo
Adorno, Marina Firpo, a guide and cookery
teacher, shows me how to make it.
“In the Middle Ages, pesto was made with
diferent kinds of herbs. But by the 18th
century it was made with basil and pine nuts
(or sometimes walnuts), and parmesan or
pecorino, and a little light olive oil. Parmesan
makes it sweeter while pecorino makes it
stronger. Some mix half and half, but my
family prefers stronger,” she explains. “Our
basil is small and the leaves are very light in
colour. It shouldn’t grow any more than 30cm
high; pick the leaves from the whole plant.”
Marina tells me to put half a clove of garlic
per person, plus 30 pine nuts, into a Carrara
marble mortar and pound them with the
pestle — ‘pesto’ means pounded in Italian. I
should keep turning the mortar a quarter of
a turn using the four small handles known
as ears. The sound is meditative, a kind of
harsh thump that becomes soter as the
pesto begins to elide into a verdant, creamy
emulsion. “When it’s like a paste, add leaves
and a little coarse salt. Basil leaves have
essential oils inside. And you need a marble
mortar, because marble is cold.”
As my pesto comes together, it’s not just
the colour that’s bright and light; it smells so
diferent to any green gloop masquerading
as pesto I’ve seen before: fresh and alive,
almost. Genoese seafarers took jars of
pesto on voyages with them, but when they
returned home, it was the smell of fresh basil
and the promise of fresh pesto that made
their hearts sing. Now I understand why.British Airways lies from Gatwick to
Genoa from £160 return. The Valéry
Guest House offers double rooms from
€80 (£72) a night, B&B. ba.com
valeryguesthouse.com visitgenoa.it
botteghestorichegenova.itFARINATA
Chickpea lour, olive oil, salt and
pepper, baked in a large tin pan
over a wood ire. It’s best eaten
fresh from the oven, savouring the
crispy, almost-burnt bits.PESTO AL MORTAIO
Sweet yet salty, heady with the
aroma of basil and a little nutty;
there’s nothing like the real thing.PANDOLCE
Popular between Christmas and
Twelth Night, this unleavened,
sweet, biscuity bread is spiced
and studded with pine nuts,
candied fruits and peels.RAVIOLI ALLA GENOVESE
Square envelopes of pasta stufed
with wild herbs, veal, parmesan,
eggs, garlic, salt and pepper.FRIGGITORIA
These shops sell various fried
foods. Head to the old port for
seafood, tiny ish and vegetables,
coated in batter and cooked
in cauldrons of oil for Genoa’s
original street food.Five Genoa food finds
IMAGES: MARCO POLO; STOCKFOODGelateria
Profumo interior
RIGHT: Pesto Genovese64 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
EAT