A Most Delicious Meal in Genova

A few of my friends were wondering why I was going to Genova. “What’s in Genova?” they asked. Honestly, other than pesto, I couldn’t think of anything else. But now, after visiting Genova, I can add two more famous delicacies found in Genova or Liguria in general. Firstly, farinata (a thin flat cake made out of chickpea flour, see picture on the right) and secondly, focaccia. I didn’t know that focaccia was a Ligurian creation, but the examples I tasted were the tastiest ever! Maybe it’s the local Ligurian olive oil, which is lighter than the Tuscan varieties.

I was afraid I wouldn’t get to try Pesto alla Genovese because it’s late October now but I was gladly corrected by the hotel staff that pesto is available year-around in Genova. In summer, the pesto is even better but in non-Summer months, basil is grown in hothouses. I had Pesto alla Genovese pasta and the sauce was smooth and subtle, yet full of flavor.

We also had the one of the best and most memorable meals here in Genova. The restaurant is called Il Ristorante Scalvini on 28/r Piazza Pontedecimo, about 20 minutes outside of the city centre. The restaurant is small, no more than 10 tables. The chef, Roberto Villa, works in the kitchen and his wife (my educated guess) works the rest of the restaurant.

Starting off with some refreshing prosecco, the wife started to rattle off, in that standard fast speed Italian, a whole bunch of specials, of which we understood very little and could only pick out a few words here and there. The chef, Roberto, came out a few minutes later. He spoke better English, but even then we could not fully comprehend the dishes that he was describing. In the end, we told him to decide for us and make us a first course and a second course.


The first course was Ravioli di ortica all’astice (Ravioli of stinging nettles with lobster). It was the most amazing pasta dish. The lobster was the freshest, most tender and sweetest lobster I’ve ever tasted. The ravioli was white on one side and green (spinach) on the other and there were a few quartered cherry tomatoes, making the colors of the Italian flag. The combination of flavors, textures and colors was out-of-this-world delicious!

The second course Roberto prepared was a fish course – Ricciola in crosta di patate e carciofi (Amberjack with a crust of potatoes with artichoke). The fish was super fresh, moist and unbelievably tender. The artichoke was julienned and placed on top of the fish, imparting a mild flavor throughout the fish. The potato crust on top was superbly moist and crisp in some areas, almost like a potato crisp.

The wine recommended by Roberto’s wife was Giacomelli Boboli Vermentino 2008, a perfect accompaniment to the food. And for dessert, we had a zambaglione, which was creamy and cool, and paired with a warm flaky pastry. It was just an excellent meal all round.

And, by the way, I broke the first bottle of vermentino in the restaurant. It was about 70% full after the first pour. Our server had put a insulating jacket around the bottle, but I did not realize that there is no bottom to this jacket and was holding the jacket to fill my glass and the bottle just went right through it and fell on the floor with a loud bang. It created quite a commotion in a small restaurant and the rest of the diners (all Italians) stared at us. The lady was really nice about it and I kept apologizing. She said that the liquid had filled the room with a beautiful aroma. Oh, you gotta love the Italians!!