I should have said, when I sent my previous post, that that recipe was quoted from 'La Cucina Piemontese' (The Cookery of Piedmont), by Alessandro Molinari Pradelli, published by Newton and Compton Editori. And I've just found another recipe, much milder, given to me by my friend Silvana Sini, brilliant cook, and this version of 'Bagna Cauda' is much milder for those who don't like the strongly flavoured one from 'La Cucina Piemontese':
200g salted anchovies
2 large cloves garlic per person
2 decilitres of milk
100g butter (unsalted)
1 decilitre Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 decilitre of single cream.
Rinse the anchovies and set aside.
Peel and slice the cloves of garlic, first removing the very central part that connects to the root, then soak the sliced garlic in the milk overnight. Next day, rinse and throw away the milk and, using the same quantity of fresh milk, and heat gently until the garlic is soft. Take the garlic out of the milk, and throw the milk away. Now, rinse the anchovies again and add to the butter, EVOO and cream mixture. Heat gently, then blitz with the hand processor. Your Bagna Cauda is now ready to serve. Serve a robust Piedmontese red wine like Barbera or Dolcetto to accompany, and have plenty of rustic bread to hand round.
This is very popular when we invite friends for a 'Merenda Sinoira', a very traditional Piedmontese kind of informal meal, with dishes like Bagna Cauda, then good salami, good pasta, like Agnolotti al Plin, and maybe a sweet dish like Bonet. There's no timeline to these gatherings! Very often, they go on late into the night, and the men talk politics and the women - guess what?: Cooking and recipes!
di reston
Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
di reston
Enough is never as god as a feast Oscar Wilde