Agliata Ligure: Conserva di Aglio per Carni e Pesce
I
Origin
Liguria (medieval tradition)
II
Description
The ancient Ligurian garlic sauce — a medieval condiment that predates pesto: raw or very lightly toasted garlic, walnut oil (or olive oil), vinegar, toasted breadcrumbs, and salt pounded together in a mortar to a rough paste. Used as a dipping sauce for boiled meats, grilled fish, and cooked vegetables. The agliata is a demonstration that Ligurian cuisine before the 16th century (when basil pesto emerged) had its own sophisticated condiment tradition rooted in medieval Arab-influenced saucing.
III
The Thread
—The Iberian garlic-oil emulsion — the other branch of the same medieval Mediterranean garlic condiment tradition Spanish · (Catalan)
—Garlic pounded with starch (bread or potato) and oil — the Greek version of the same breadcrumb-emulsified garlic sauce Greek
—The French evolution of the same garlic-oil sauce tradition — with egg yolk as emulsifier replacing breadcrumb Provençal
IV
Flavour Context
Pungent, acidic, textured garlic paste that cuts through rich boiled meats and grilled fish — the pre-pesto Ligurian condiment tradition, unchanged since the 14th century
Pillars V — VII
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