Top of the World
Among all the traditions and typical dishes of Liguria we undoubtedly find pansoti with walnut sauce. A pasta filled with vegetables with a mouthwatering sauce made of cream and walnuts. For the most demanding.
Legend has it that in the tradition of Tigullio (Tigullio is a territorial district that is part of the metropolitan city of Genoa), the wild herbs needed to stuff Pansoti must be seven, and picked strictly in the morning, on the roadsides of the Ligurian coasts. This "legendary" incipit alone would be enough to elect them as "THE" dish par excellence of Tigullio.
We know for a fact that their name means "pot-bellied": that is why they prefer one "t" only, as opposed to the name "Pansotti" (with the "two t's"), used by many. Officially they were presented, as a new recipe, at the Ligurian Cuisine Festival in Genoa-Nervi in 1961. Here, however, the history is unclear.
Pansoti, in fact, were already listed in the 1931 Touring food guide. A different etymology, would see them linked to a "really existed" general Pansoit, who in the early 1800s commanded a French garrison, of instance above Bogliasco (between the localities Poggio and Sessarego).
As if all this were not enough, San Martino di Noceto (a hamlet of Rapallo), proudly claims authorship...
