Good things too good to miss:

• Pesto
  Ligurians almost make a religion of their devotion to pesto sauce and its main ingredient, fresh basil. There is, however, no uniformity of opinion as to the best recipe for pesto or its best uses. Every village, and for that matter probably every family, has its own recipe for pesto sauce and its favorite shape of pasta to use with the sauce. For example, the Genoese prefer a sharp, pungent pesto sauce which they serve with trenette pasta. Many people opt for a mild pesto sauce, sometimes with cream or butter added. In still other areas, they dispense with the pasta altogether and add the pesto to their local version of minestrone or fish soup.
  
  You'll find, however, the basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano and  Pecorino), pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and salt, and of course, fresh basil leaves! In the busy cast of Liguria's food products, this precious little herb plays the starring role! Fragrant and tasty, natural and safe, basil is now covered by the standards passed by the European Union governing the use of additives in agriculture which were adopted in Liguria in 1999. This decision guarantees the high natural quality of basil grown in Liguria. This mark of quality makes Ligurian basil (and its beloved by-product, Pesto DOP - protected origin), the "green gold" of the world's gourmets. 
  
  
• Torta Pasqualina
  Torta pasqualina (Easter cake) is not a dessert, but a savory pie made with eighteen layers of light pasta spread with oil and stuffed with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, whole hard-boiled eggs, and seasonal vegetables such as artichokes, chard, and onions. 
  
  
• Seafood
  Being a seafaring town, Genoa's cuisine naturally places a high emphasis on seafood. Many of the dishes are familiar foods with different names such as branzino (sea bass), dentice and orata (sea bream), cernia (grouper), and merluzzo (cod). Popular shellfish selections include cozze (mussels) and ostriche (oysters). Aragosta (lobster) and granchio (crab) are also familiar delights, which taste even better enjoyed set against the charming background of the Ligurian coast. This is not to say there aren't a few surprises lurking, however!
  
  Stoccafisso is a piece of cod dried to something resembling fish jerky, which is soaked and then cooked to perfection. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! Another unusual cod dish much loved in the region is baccalà, a dish made of salted cod treated in much the same manner and served in a delicious sauce. Many visitors may be put off at first by the strong smell, but the taste and texture are definitely worth a go! Bianchetti or rossetti are tiny, tiny baby fish served up locally in a number of delicious variations. They are always quite fresh, often boiled, and dressed simply with oil and lemon, or cooked into a frittata. A definite must, as well as the moscardini, polpo, or totani (all belonging to the cephalopod family, which includes squid and octopus) prepared in so many different ways.
  
  Even those not fond of fish are sure to succumb to acciughe fritte. These fried, fresh anchovies, breaded and often stuffed, are the perfect accompaniment for the region's fabulous white wines!