Bagna Cauda
Bagna cauda is a typical preparation of Piedmont based on anchovies and garlic. A "hot sauce" that is usually brought to the table accompanied by fresh and cooked vegetables. Try it for a dinner with friends.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 garlic heads
- 100 g of salted anchovies
- a glass of red wine
- 150 g of extra virgin olive oil
Bagna cauda is one of the most symbolic preparations of Piedmont. It is a very tasty sauce made of anchovies and garlic and it is also celebrated during the Bagna Cauda Day which takes place every year in Asti. The recipe we are presenting is the one deposited at the Italian Academy of Cuisine in September 2015 and considered "the most reliable and passable" by the judging commission of experts.
Bagna cauda literally means "hot sauce" and is prepared by letting garlic cloves and anchovies (preferably of the red type from Spain) cook slowly in extra virgin olive oil until they are completely flaked.
It is traditionally served in the "fujot", the typical earthenware stoves that maintain the heat, accompanied by raw vegetables (such as the "hunchback" thistle of Nizza Monferrato or peppers) and cooked vegetables (from Jerusalem artichokes to boiled potatoes and savoy cabbage).
Start preparing the bagna cauda from the garlic: peel the garlic, remove the sprout and cut each clove in half lengthwise. Now dedicate yourselves to the anchovies. First, desalinate them and then remove the bones.
Soak them for a few minutes in red wine and then pat them dry. Start cooking the garlic cloves in a crock with half of the oil and stir with a wooden spoon.
Add the anchovy fillets and the remaining oil. Cook over low heat for about 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Be careful not to let the oil fry. Cooking must be very gentle: for better heat dispersion place a flame spreader under the crock. Towards the end you can help with a wooden spoon, breaking up the garlic cloves that have softened in the meantime. Once ready, bring the bagna cauda to the table inside the typical fujot, which will keep it warm.
