Bagna càuda

Bagna càuda(Piedmontese:[ˈbɑɲaˈkɑʊ̯da];lit.'hot dip'or'hot gravy'), also spelledbagna caoudainAlpes-Maritimes, is a hot dish made with garlic,anchovies,red wine, andextra virgin olive oil, typical ofLower Piedmont, a geographical region ofPiedmont, Italy,andProvence, France. The dish is served and consumed in a manner similar tofondue, sometimes as anappetizer, with raw or cooked vegetables typically used to dip into it.
Bagna càudais a hot dish anddipping sauceinPiedmonteseandProvençalcuisine, used to dip vegetables in.It is prepared using olive oil, chopped anchovies, and garlic.Additional ingredients sometimes used include truffle and salt.Raw or cooked vegetables are dipped into the sauce, which is typically kept hot on a serving table using a heat source such as a candle or burner.
Cardoon(edible thistle) is often dipped in the sauce.Additional foods used to dip into it includecabbage,celery,carrot,Jerusalem artichoke,pepper,fennel, and bread.It is sometimes served as an appetizer.
In the past,walnutoil orhazelnutoil would have been used.Sometimes,trufflesare used in versions around the Italiancomune(municipality) ofAlba, in the Piedmont region.It is traditionally eaten during the autumn and winter months, particularly at Christmas and New Year's, and must be served hot, as the name suggests.
It is also a popular winter dish in centralArgentinaand prevalent in Clinton, Indiana; Rock Springs, Wyoming; Coal City, Morris, and Benld, Illinois;as there were many northern Italian immigrants to those places.Bagna càudawas also prepared in the coal-mining community of Madison County, Illinois(including Collinsville,Edwardsville, and Maryville), due to the numerous Italian immigrants that came there to work in the mines.
Bagna càudahas been a part of Piedmontese cuisine since the 16th century.The recipe is typical ofLower Piedmont, a geographical region ofPiedmont, Italy, as in past centuries in that area it was very easy to obtain the saltedanchovy, the fundamental ingredient, still used today in many typical Piedmontese recipes, especially among appetizers, for example,anciove albagnet verdoralbagnet ross. Ancient Piedmont obtained its salt from thesalineofProvenceand the mouths of the Rhône, through a series of commercial routes crossing the passes of theMaritime Alpsand known as "salt roads"; in fact at the timeNiceand its surroundings were territorySavoyard. Legend has it that the trade in salted anchovies was a way to trade salt, thus avoiding paying the high duties: tubs full of salt presented a layer of salted anchovies in the upper part to the control of the tax collectors. In reality, throughout the Piedmont of the old regime, the saltgabellewas a compulsory tax and not linked to consumption. Not only that, salted anchovies were much more expensive and their price was sustainable only in relation to the modest purchase quantities. The "anchovy seller" (ancióaireinPiedmontese language) was the itinerant merchant who with the typical cart pulled by horses or oxen brought the anchovies in barrels and wooden casks.
Bagna càudawas rejected for a long time by the wealthier classes, who considered it a coarse food and unsuitable for a refined diet, in particular, due to the presence of garlic and the effects of its intake on the breath, where it remains for a considerable time (in some cases even up to twenty-four hours). For this reason, written information about this dish is rather rare in Piedmontese gastronomic texts. The first detailed description ofbagna càudain its current version is due toRoberto Sacchetti[it]and dates back to 1875.
Pinzimoniois a similardipping saucemade with olive oil, salt, pepper, and occasionally wine vinegar, which is served with raw vegetablesand is typically served cold.
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