Recipe(tried): Bagna Cauda

Hi Anne,

Bagna Cauda is an Italina dip that is usually served with "gardoons" (cardoons) and other veggies. It's also good with fresh bread. You can either make it with cream or olive oil. Here are two recipes for you. Good Luck! I like it both ways.

BAGNA CAUDA
Anchovy and Garlic Dip

Literally translated from Piedmontese dialect, it means "warm sauce". The ingredients suggest it is a country recipe, because all the ingredients are garden grown. Even the oil was probably produced on the farm. The exception is anchovies, which were widely used as a substitute for salt.

4 cloves garlic, crushed
l 1/2 oz. butter, melted
4 oz. salted anchovies
pepper
1 cup olive oil

Saut the crushed garlic and chopped anchovy fillets in the oil. Stir constantly until the anchovies disintegrate. Add butter and mix. Add pepper to taste. This sauce is served in a pot, for everyone to dip the vegetables in, or in individual terracotta bowls. The garlic's flavor becomes somewhat milder if you leave the cloves to soak in milk for a few hours or add a small amount of cream at the last minute. Bagna cauda must be placed on warmers, as it must simmer constantly. It is usually served with cardoons, fennel, peppers, celery and carrots, much like Pinzimonio.

Bagna Cauda

1/2 cup butter
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 (2 ounce) cans anchovy fillets, drained
1 pint heavy cream

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until tender. Reduce heat to low. Mix in anchovy filets and heavy cream. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat, cover and chill in the refrigerator approximately 2 hours.

Return the mixture to medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly. Serve hot.