Cima alla genovese
Photo: Roger469 · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Genoa's tourist office dates cima to the 16th century and repeats the local joke that the Genoese invented it to save on meat, filling a cheap cut with humbler ingredients; it has since become one of the richest dishes of the Genoese table. Once a Christmas dish, it is now eaten all year, and the Genoese singer Fabrizio De André dedicated his song 'A çimma to it, in dialect, with the cook pricking the meat with a needle as it simmers.

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Common allergens: Eggs, Milk, Nuts, Celery

Make it at home

Yield Serves 8Hands-on 1 hrTotal 4 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg breast of veal, opened into a pocket by the butcher
  • 200g lean veal, diced
  • 150g sweetbreads, blanched and cleaned
  • 6 eggs
  • 80g grated Parmigiano
  • 100g peas, blanched
  • 30g pine nuts
  • 1 garlic clove and a handful of marjoram, chopped
  • 1 carrot, 1 celery stick and 1 onion for the broth
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Brown the diced veal and sweetbreads, let them cool and chop them very finely.
  2. Beat the eggs with the Parmigiano, then add the garlic, marjoram, pine nuts, peas, chopped meat, salt and pepper.
  3. Fill the veal pocket two-thirds full, sew the opening shut with kitchen string and wrap the cima in a clean cloth.
  4. Lower it into warm salted water with the carrot, celery and onion and simmer gently for at least two hours, pricking it now and then with a needle so it does not split.
  5. Leave it to cool under a weight, then chill and serve in thin slices.

Tip from the editors. Filling only two-thirds of the pocket leaves room for the eggs to swell; overfill it and the cima splits in the pot.

Where to eat cima alla genovese

Cima alla genovese in Genoa

Trattoria detta del Bruxaboschi ★ 4.4

€€ TrattoriaLevante

Trattoria detta del Bruxaboschi in San Desiderio, Genoa, is a Bib Gourmand trattoria open since 1862, with a car park and a terrace under old horse chestnuts.

OrderCima alla genovese, pansotti or fried rabbit, the dishes Michelin names first.

Why locals goMichelin says the way up to the San Desiderio hamlet is a winding road that grows less urban, inland from the city centre.

TipMichelin adds that mushrooms are a fixture in season; the site lists dinner Tuesday to Saturday and lunch at the weekend.

Directions

Antica Osteria dei Cacciatori ★ 4.0

€€ TrattoriaSampierdarena

Antica Osteria dei Cacciatori at the top of Corso Martinetti in Genoa's Sampierdarena has two dining rooms, house-made pasta and pizza on the menu.

OrderHouse-made ravioli or trofie, and the seasonal mushroom dishes the site promotes.

Why locals goIt stands on the Promontorio heights above Sampierdarena, at the end of Corso Martinetti near the Castagna cemetery, says a Genoese food site.

TipThe site says Sunday dinner is taken only for groups above eight people; every other evening closes at 22:00.

Directions

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