Focaccia, Pesto, and Focaccia with Pesto!

I spent this weekend hiking in Cinque Terre. Now the scenery itself is so beautiful that quite frankly, the food could be terrible and it would still be one of the most visited places in Italy. But since it is still a part of Italy, the food is in fact fantastic as well. Cinque Terre is located in the region of Liguria, with its closest  major city being Genova. Genova is known for quite a few regional food specialties, the most popular of which are Focaccia bread and Pesto! You barely have to go 2 steps before you can find a store on the street selling either pesto or fresh from the oven Focaccia bread. You can even find these things at a Tabacchi!

Focaccia bread, as found throughout Italy, is usually just made with bread (similar to that used for pizza) with herbs and oil. However, Focaccia bread near Genova is a whole new beast. You can walk into any given place on the street and find dozens of varieties to choose from. Some include meats, some cheeses, some vegetables, some a mix of everything, and even some with pesto!

One of the greatest things for me to discover about Focaccia bread, after scarfing it down all weekend long, is that it really isn't all that difficult to make. There are tons of recipes out there, just google Focaccia recipe and you'll find something good, but this is one of my favorites. You can see a brief description on this page, then click "Get the Recipe" at the top for the list of ingredients and procedures.

Is your mouth watering yet? You're looking at Trofie with Pesto, a dish that can be found on literally every single menu in this region. The pasta, as well as the sauce, is specific to this region and they really know how to do it right. I will admit I am not much of a Pesto person in general, but after tasting the real deal, I may be turned pesto lover. I love this particular description and recipe for the dish so it is something you can try to replicate at home. They even include pictures of how the pasta is twisted and made so you can try it yourself if you can resist the temptation to just buy it from the bag. It's a tricky pasta to make by hand, and for me I prefer to enjoy it in a restaurant who knows what they're doing, but there are a few good youtube videos available to help you along if you're brave enough.

For those of you more like me and may just be interested in making the pesto, the food network offers a good recipe I've posted here. Signing off from the land of Columbus.....Eat well and enjoy your pesto!