Garlic, anchovies, and extra-virgin olive oil — these three ingredients meld harmoniously to create a potent, umami-rich dipping sauce. Bagna càuda, which literally means “hot bath,” dates back to the Middle Ages, born in Piedmont from local peasants who cooked together and shared meals as a way to ward off the winter cold.
While it's best known as a vegetable dip, bagna càuda is also served atop polenta, over salad, during Lent as a pasta sauce, scrambled with eggs, and even finished with truffles.
The traditional bagna càuda recipe
Tradition dictates that bagna càuda should pack plenty of garlic. In 2005, the Delegazione di Asti (the Asti Delegation) of the Italian Academy of Cuisine completed a recipe that they declared "the most reliable and acceptable." The committee met for several tastings and comparisons before finalizing and notarizing the recipe in the town of Costigliole d'Asti.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
12 heads of garlic
3 cups extra-virgin olive oil and, if possible, a small glass of walnut oil
6 ounces of red anchovies
Method:
The Piemontese usually prepare bagna càuda in a terracotta dian. It's usually served in a s-cionfetta, an earthenware pot with embers that keeps it hot, but a saucepan and fondue pot will do.
Peel the garlic cloves then cut each clove in half lengthways and remove the green bud. Place the garlic in the pan, add ½ cup oil and start cooking over low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon, making sure the cloves don't change color. Desalt the anchovies, wash them with red wine or water, then add them to the pan and stir gently with a wooden spoon until they dissolve completely. Cover with the remaining oil and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, making sure the sauce doesn’t fry. At the end of cooking, add a pat of butter if necessary to smoothen the consistency.
Rest the pot on an alcohol burner or pour the bagna càuda into a fondue pot, and serve alongside crudités or even some cooked vegetables, such as beetroots, boiled potatoes, baked onions, fried pumpkin, and roasted peppers.
Fun fact: The Piemontesi usually collect the leftovers at the bottom of the pot, known as the spesso della bagna, to make scrambled eggs.
