Sardenaira

The sardenaira descends from the machetusa, an ancient Ligurian focaccia spread with pounded salted anchovies — a preparation whose lineage reaches back to Roman garum. When tomatoes arrived in Ligurian kitchens in the sixteenth century, they gradually displaced the anchovy paste as the primary topping, producing the modern form. Two name-legends compete: one links the Imperia variant, pissalandrea or piscialandrea, to the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria; another derives sardenaira from the sardines historically used in place of anchovies. Sanremo's municipality granted the dish a Denominazione Comunale (De.Co.) designation, fixing a disciplinare that mandates fresh or pureed tomato and gives preference to DOP Riviera Ligure olive oil.

Biting through the deeply crisp, oil-saturated edge into a pillowy centre, you meet the concentrated savour of salt-cured anchovies dissolving into the bread, the gentle burst of a Taggiasca olive, and the scattered punctuation of capers — all grounded by the herbaceous warmth of dried oregano and the fruity richness of Riviera olive oil.

The dough ferments for at least an hour: yeast CO₂ accumulates within the gluten network, creating an open, airy crumb. Baking at 220–230°C rapidly desiccates the surface while trapped steam continues to expand the structure upward, producing the crust-versus-crumb contrast. Anchovies are rich in inosinate (IMP); tomatoes supply glutamate. Together they trigger synergistic umami amplification — nucleotide-amino acid pairing raises perceived savouriness far beyond the sum of either component alone. The generous olive oil coating the pan and topping slows surface moisture loss, keeping the crumb supple after baking.