Liguria
The Ligurian summer salad — not a mixed green salad but a composed arrangement of raw and preserved ingredients: hardboiled eggs, canned or salt-preserved tuna, Taggiasca olives, anchovy fillets, tomato, raw onion, cucumber and bread rubbed with garlic, dressed only with the best Ligurian olive oil and sea salt. No vinegar, no lemon — the ingredients provide all the acid needed.
Briny from anchovy and tuna, sweet from Taggiasca olives, fruity from the olive oil; the bread absorbs everything and becomes richly flavoured; no acid is added — balance from the ingredients alone
{"Quality of each ingredient is paramount — this salad has nowhere to hide; every component must be excellent","Taggiasca olives are essential — their low bitterness and high oil content are what distinguishes this from a Niçoise","The bread (gallette di mare — hard ship's biscuits, or very stale bread) is rubbed with garlic and placed at the base — it absorbs the oil and fish liquors","No vinegar or lemon — the anchovy, olives and tuna provide all the salinity and acid the dish needs","Dress with olive oil 10 minutes before serving and toss gently — the oil soaks into the bread and ties everything"}
{"The tuna should be in olive oil, not brine — the tuna's fat carries flavour and the oil contributes to the dressing","A handful of fresh basil torn over at service bridges the anchovy and olive oil with herbal freshness","The order of layering matters: bread at the base, then tuna and anchovy, then vegetables and eggs on top — the liquors drain down through the layers"}
{"Adding vinegar or lemon — they fight with the anchovy's delicate acidity","Fresh bread that becomes soggy — only very stale bread or gallette di mare can absorb the oil without disintegrating","Low-quality olives — the Taggiasca olive's buttery, mild character is non-substitutable with brined supermarket olives"}
La Cucina Ligure — Pesci del Golfo e Stoccafisso