Liguria and Piedmont – Some Food Memories Part 2

This is the second in a series of two short articles with some food memories of a month spent in Liguria and Piedmont.

Last week we were reminiscing about Ligurian pasta. Travel north to Piedmont and it's a very different story. In Turin, they will enthuse about their tarajin. They're a variation on tagliatelle, cut more thinly, but distinguished by their high egg content. This is a prosperous city. No cucina povera here. These may be served with a butter sauce or with a generous shaving of black truffle. If you find a place serving tajerin, it will almost certainly feature plin. These are simply very tiny stuffed pasta, usually with a meat filling. They seem to be a bit of an affectation, expensive because they're fiddly to make and too labour intensive for the average home cook. A hint of luxury for high days and holidays.

From pasta to bread. While your bakery will stock a wide range, as Italian panifici always do, a significant amount of shelf space in Liguria will be given over to focaccia. It's not that uncommon in the UK. Soft and spongy, highly calorific with lots of olive oil, often flavoured with rosemary. So I was a little surprised when Italian teacher, E, went into rhapsodies about the Genoese varieties.

In Genoa they've elevated it to a fine art. Onion, cheese, and olive versions are all available. The plain stuff is everywhere, of course, sometimes wrapped round ham and soft cheese for an irresistible diet busting lunch. Shops will advertise that they are stocking focaccia from a particular district.

The same shops will also stock a wide range of pizzas by the slice. It's a myth to think of the latter as purely a Neapolitan dish. Indeed, some will say that it's not an Italian invention at all, that its origins are in pissaladiere, from the south of France.

Reading any menu abroad often requires simultaneous translation assistance. Any Italian traveller is used to having to ask about local pasta variations; however, local names feature on many menus as well as on many fishmongers' slabs. We tend to know squid as calamari: here they are totani. At least you'll find that in a dictionary, unlike fassona, which seems to be Turin dialect for veal. I was amused by seeing mussels (normally cozze) appear on a Genoa menu as muscoli, literal translation, muscles. By living we learn - thanks, Patrick Geddes, that's another of his mottos.

It's sometimes difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of a particular dish. Many places often vie to take the credit for the good ones. There seems to be little doubt that vitello tonnato is a Piedmont classic. It's a cold dish of thinly sliced veal topped with a mayonnaise style sauce with a base of tuna, the whole thing topped with capers. A favourite of mine, but I didn't know its origins. It featured in last week's Tom Cooks!  Confusingly I saw a menu containing two veal dishes side by side, one described as vitello, the other fassona.

I refuse to give any one region credit for fritto misto (literally mixed fried, usually fish and seafood, but sometimes including vegetables), as everyone does it, and few nations do deep frying better than Italy. It's no coincidence that most fish and chip shops in Britain were established by Italian immigrants. I do chuckle when I see some such places describe themselves as selling Italian street food. That's a field on which I'm not an expert. Sadly, when in Turin I didn't get the chance to sample their street food, the famous gofri. They are a cross between a wafer and a waffle, usually stuffed with salami and/or cheese and/or vegetables. A better known Turin export, which we don't see enough of, is bagna cauda. We are so used to hummus as a dip. Why not try this for a change, a milk based sauce with garlic and anchovies? But perhaps not before a date.

Want something sweet? Again, not my specialist subject. Italian menus can be a little predictable in the dolci section, but try bunet, or bonet, a variation on crème caramel with cocoa powder and amaretto. Or warm yourself in Turin with bicerin, a combo of coffee, hot chocolate and cream. And, of course, just as Rick and Ilsa will always have Paris, in Italy you'll always have gelato.

If you eat badly in Italy, I would suggest that it's your own fault. Having said that, many menus in particular regions may seem remarkably similar. Make the most of your travels by discovering all the stuff you've never heard of. Many delights await.