Farinata Genovese (Italian Ligurian Chickpea Flatbread) Farinata is Genoa's oldest fast food: chickpea flour, water, salt and Ligurian olive oil, poured thin and baked until the surface blisters gold while the inside stays soft as set custard. Nothing rises, nothing is kneaded and nothing is hidden. It is eaten hot from the pan, cut into rough wedges, with black pepper and a glass of cold white wine. This version follows the Genoese method exactly, and it is measured to the s

Focaccia Genovese Fügassa (Italian Traditional Genoese Focaccia) Fügassa is the flat bread of Genoa, and it looks nothing like the tall, cakey focaccia sold abroad. It stands about an inch high, chewy and glossy with oil, pitted with deep dimples that hold small pools of salty brine. Genoese bakers eat it at breakfast, dipped in milky coffee, as happily as at lunch. This version follows that tradition in an ordinary home sheet pan. Yield: 8 pieces. Prep: 30 minutes. Rise: abo

Cozze Ripiene alla Spezzina (Stuffed Mussels from La Spezia, Liguria) Cozze ripiene alla spezzina are the mussels of the Gulf of La Spezia, opened raw, filled with a soft mixture of bread, egg, Parmigiano and marjoram, tied shut and simmered in a light tomato sauce. They taste of the sea first and of the stuffing second. Each mussel reaches the table as a small tender parcel that holds together until the fork opens it, sitting in a glossy sauce that asks for bread. Yield: 4 a