Ligurian Shop Windows
One of my favorite things to do when we are visiting the in-laws in Liguria is to walk through the towns and look in their food shop windows. They are really beautiful and you know that they have an enormous amount of pride in the food that they prepare.
You find many more prepared foods in Liguria than you do in Rome, I’m not sure if this has to do with the fact that these are towns where people from Milano and Torino spend their weekends, especially in the summer months, and they cater more to tourists, or if it is just cultural. However, if you ask any Ligurian where you can buy the best pesto, they will give you a dirty look and remind you that they make their own.
One of the best things about Ligurian foods are their fresh pastas, they have a number of filled pastas like their panzotti, which are filled with swiss chard and generally served with a walnut sauce. They are also famous for their trofie, which are small twisted pasta that are usually served with pesto. The pasta is usually only made with flour and water, not with eggs like many fresh pasta from the Central-Northern regions of Italy, though some are made with spinach or tomatoes which give them some color.
Since we are getting close to Christmas the shops are selling Panettone and Pan D’Oro, which are typical cakes served at this time of year. Panettone is originally from Milano, but eaten all over Italy during the holidays.
Italicious 