Ligurian cuisine is typical of mountain people and sailors, and is based on ingredients from both local production, and contamination of other places, where Ligurians had frequent contacts over the centuries, such as Sardinian pecorino, one of the ingredients of the pesto, and spices that since ancient times were in common use in Liguria though rare in other Italian regions. 
The Ligurian cuisine of the common population was always frugal and based on local foods. The scarcity of cattle pastures forced the Ligurians to develop dishes based on alternative ingredients, such as fish, herbs, game. Among the condiments, pesto is a world-known Ligurian invention, used both as a sauce to season pasta, and added to fresh vegetable soups. Common are also savory pies with vegetables, such as the Torta Pasqualina, and focacce, such as fugassa co formaggio of Recco.
Among the resources of the territory are wild spontaneous herbs (marjoram, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme etc.) from which the preboggion - a mixture of wild herbs - is made; the products of home gardens (onions, potatoes, basil, aubergines), the agricultural produce (basil, cuor di bue tomatoes, trombette courgettes, asparagus, artichokes of Albenga, mushrooms, Valbormida truffles, fresh and dried fruit).
Then there is olive oil, flour products (focaccia, farinata, savory pies), and a wide range of dry and fresh pasta. As regards fish and meat, there is abundance of local fish (anchovies, shrimps, octopus, octopus, cuttlefish, muscles, red mullet) and game from the hinterland forests.
