September 2 2022 Recco, Italy @vitturin1860recco with @umbechef @focacciadirecco_igp @zestofitaly @chesterhastings and Tommy Yracheta Continuing our Focaccia di Recco crawl we head to @vitturin1860recco a restaurant located in an old stable house. Chef Umberto Squarzati @umbechef demonstrated his version of Focaccia di Recco and prepared a classic pesto for trofie pasta. Some tidbits of note.... A small piece of cheese is used to check if the oven is hot enough, it should dance of the floor of the oven like testing a hot pan with a drop of water. The oven was set to 305c vs 280c at the previous bakery. The pesto started with garlic and much more pine nuts than was intuitive for me. They only use the delicate and small spoon shaped basil leaves which most closely resemble the living basil in supermarkets back home. Parmesan is used in a 4 to 1 ratio with a lightly smoked pecorino sardo. Along with pine nuts from Tuscany that makes three non local ingredients in the iconically Ligurian condiment, a testament to the region’s history of trade. Finally, in the 19th century, salt and garlic were necessary in the local cuisine in order to fight scurvy.