RIVIERA

Unknown bounty from the Mediterranean

At the end of the Salt route, or maybe the beginning, is the sparkling, turquoise mediterranean. East of the better known French Riviera and West of the ebullient port city of Genoa lies a cresent of fine shingly beaches where you can still buy fish straight from the boats and always get a basil spritz cocktail. Delicious.

We spent an inordinate amount of time here. The little towns of Noli, Varigotti and Varezze were our particular favourites. Our children swam happily in the clear waters of the Baia de Saraceni, diving through shoals of anchovies and hunting for octupus in the rocky crags surrounding the bay. When they were hungry, we would troop off into town, a 5 minute walk, and buy thick, oily slabs of foccacia to eat under shady porticoes or take back to the beach. As they got older, the grown ups would leave them on the beach and duck in for a cheeky aperativo in one of the beautiful cafes nearby.

Anchovies are a staple part of Ligurian economy and diet and I could not be happier about that. In fact their reach is far beyond the shores of the Riviera….they were a staple part of the trade in salted goods, so up in the valleys of the Occitano you find Bagna Cauda and over the Maritme Alps in Provence similar dishes are frequent visitors to the table.

On our table at Costabella they appeared silvery blue and fresh, marinated in Ligurian olive oil and lemons, mouthfuls of cold, slippery piquancy to be washed down with chilled glass or Gavi or an ice cold Moretti. Or on pizza, obviously. Stephen loved to eat them straight from the jar, oily and glistening.