Sardenara

Sardenara is an Italian pizza hailing from the region of Liguria. Despite its classification as a pizza, sardenara is not a typical pizza, but more of a savory focaccia flatbread. It consists of a rectangular-shaped dough that is traditionally topped with tomato sauce, salted anchovies, whole garlic cloves, black olives, and oregano. Originally, the toppings did not include tomatoes, but a sort of paste made with sardines was smeared over the dough and the pizza was garnished with sardine heads on top, which is how the dish got its name sardenaira or sardenara. Sardenara is often compared to pissaladière, a Provençal dish which is topped with anchovy paste. In Imperia, the dish is also referred to as pizza all’andrea or pizzalandrea, a name that is associated with Andrea Doria, an Italian admiral, who is said to have been the inspiration for the dish or its creator. In Bordighera, it's called pisciarà, in Ventmiglia, it's called pisciadela, and the dish is known as macchetusa in Apricale, referring to the machetto, a sauce made in a mortar with salted anchovies.