In early June 2007 we spent a week in Sestri Levante on the Italian Riviera di Levante (the Riviera of the Rising Sun). Steven was giving a talk on "Search as a Mode of Learning" (if you are interested see his LeveragePoint Applications blog).
Sestri Levante lies halfway between the capital of Liguria, Genoa and its southern border La Spezia. This little town is dominated by a rocky peninusla the Isola that seperates the Bay of Silence from the Bay of Fables. Atop the Isola is a tower where Marconi did some of his work on wireless communication. Across the Bay of Fables the peninsula of Portofino looms in the distance. An enchanted place.
Our favourite restaurant in Sestri Levante is LR 23, a small place on Corso Colombo focused on fresh local food. A couple of doors down towards the Isola they also have a store selling local olive oils, vinegars, pastas, pestos and a great deli. We ate many wonderful things there, but what we remember best is the fresh raw anchovies (acciughe).
- Fillets of fresh (very fresh) anchovies
- Olive oil
- Grape tomatoes
- Scallions
- Splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon
- Salt and pepper
- Perhaps a fresh herb from the garden, parsley or chives would work
Lay out the fillets on a plate. Splash on some of your best olive oil, preferably a lighter one, even a bit grassy. Toss halved grape tomatoes, think-sliced scallions, salt and pepper and possibly the herbs (though you could also sprinkle these on at the end) with some more olive oil and a small amount of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon. We had ours with a very mild apple vinegar - Agro di Mele - but a champagne or white wine vinegar would work just as well. Layer the tomato mixture on to the anchovy fillets, enjoy.
We ate these with a Cinque Terre white from Manarola. A very clean taste, without the slight edge we noticed in some Cinque Terre wines.
A Note on Fish Stocks
We ate a lot of fresh fish while in Liguria, and we noticed that virtually all of the fresh fish were small, most no more than 7 to 10 centimeters, if that. Looking at the nets on the boats and along the shore, most had a mesh of only 2 or 3 centimeters. I suspect that this part of the Mediterranean is largely fished out and that we have gone deep down into the food web. This is very sad, but I am afraid it is where most of the world's oceans are headed. If you have a chance, read Charles Clovers book The End of the Line: How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat.
