The food in this part of Italy is of course – Italian! But with a noticeable inspiration from France or rather Provence and the Nice area. Being in the Hinterland of a vast coastline with many small fishing harbours, fish and seafood come in abundance. From the terraced hills and mountains locally produced olive oil and homegrown vegetables play an all important role in the local cuisine.
As can be noted from the section on Local Events (input link!) a lot of social activities centre around or involve local food – and oftentimes also local wine. Each year most local families will produce a batch of red and white for their own consumption. They grow vines with a variety of mainly local grapes, and in fact Liguria does have one DOCG nominated red, namely Rossese di Dolceacqua. White wines based on the grapes Vermentino or Pigato are appealingly tasty and fresh to go with a meal or as a refreshment. They can be bought at the producers in the valley: Gajaudo or Foresti or Terre Bianche.
Most local wine is rather light in alcohol and very fresh – ready to drink (you don’t save them for years!).
A job well done harvesting the olive fruits and now ready for the press at the local co-operative olive-mill. They do one mechanical press, don’t use any solvents and most locals harbour near religious feelings about their olive oil! If in Pigna with space in your car try and enquire with some of the locals or write to us: Contact and practical and we might be able to help you find someone selling local oil (usual quantity is a five litre “lattina” for €60).
Laterini can be found at the fisheries in the corner of the fresh food market in Ventimiglia. They are rinsed, dried a bit and sprinkled with flour, salt and pepper. Then they go into the oil for a few moments and served with lots of fresh lemon you have a wonderful starter. Voilà!
Except for the winter months the hills and not least the higher plains in the area hold a wide variety of edible mushrooms. The very king is of course the porcini which come served raw in thin slices with equally thin slices of parmesan cheese sprinkled with local olive oil – an unbelievable tasty and stunningly simple anti pasti. The porcini and all other edible ones are served cooked in numerous ways – noticeably as filling in ravioli or tortellini.
In Italy you can actually buy high quality dried pasta, but of course it doesn’t beat a freshly made pasta dough turned into any of their numerous shapes and forms: World of Italian pasta. Local traditions are very much about ravioli stuffed with chopped vegetables/mushrooms + herbs + ricotta cheese.
A classic Ligurian condiment to pasta dishes is the pesto Genovese – pick your pine kernels, grate some parmesan cheese, get a good helping of basil leaves and work it through in the mortar with local olive oil (if offered the opportunity do try it handmade by a local casalinga). Keeps well in the fridge covered with oil.
The nightshade family of plants really enrich human nutrition – tomatoes are one of many important crops and come in a vast variety of species. Many locals are single-mindedly fans of the Cuore di Bue (ox hart). It is a large fruit and grown well in lots of sun you get a most wonderful tasteful tomato for all the uses you can image!
Many locals cultivate a bean which after harvest, drying and threshing represent an important source of protein – we are talking about the Fagiolo bianco di Pigna which is registered in the Italian Slow Food chapter: Slow Food Italia. This famously tasty bean is used in many local dishes and must be tried! Also, it is worthwhile to bring home a bag of these dried beans – contrary to local wine, they do taste very well at home!
The French connection is in particular visible when it comes to stuffed vegetables – a famous dish engrained in many menus over at Nice or Cannes. In Pigna they certainly also know how to do these great and healthy bites (starter or main as you please).
Most locals grow lemon trees and the fragrance emanating from a bag of freshly picked lemons is out of this world – certainly a far cry from the experience in a northern Europe supermarket! In Pigna a very classic use of lemons is the lemon tart (crostata meringata al limone) – if offered to you, don’t miss it.
The local restaurant scene is dominated by the Ristorante Terme (Bib Gourmand) located in walking distance just outside Pigna towards Buggio/Castelvittorio. The family proprietors have served the best food in the valley for years and they definitely deserve a visit. Another important restaurant is Osteria-martini, which offers great food and a unique location at the very charming Piazza Cola a Pigna. In addition don’t miss out an espresso with great cakes or an apperitivo down by Fabio (the pasticceria called Desir de Roy) – in fact they also serve nice salads for lunch. If craving a pizza the got-to place is Sul Ponte down on the main road. In addition you will find a couple of bars open for coffee and drinks.
In Pigna village you will find a couple of smaller alimentaries (grocery stores) whereas larger supermarkets are down towards to coast – for example the well stocked Mercato and nearby a great butchers shop: Centro Carni.
If you want to understand which local produce are in season use this site: https://www.alimentipedia.it/ (and in addition you’ll learn some useful Italian names when shopping!). Equipped with this guide you are ready to hit an absolute must, namely the covered market in Ventimiglia offering fruit, vegetables, pasta, meat and fish: For foodies this is paradise!