For the farinata, I couldn’t resist dropping spoonfuls of another Genoese specialty, pesto, along with creamy ricotta cheese, right into the pancake before baking.

On his return voyage from the Caribbean in 1493, the Genoese explorer penned a letter to his Spanish sponsors, detailing his discoveries.

In the olden days, for Genoese boys as well as girls, this was the traditional kitchen activity while grandma was cooking, he says.