Bagna Cauda

Recipe: The Best Bagna Cauda Recipe »

Bagna Cauda is a wonderful dip made famous in the Piedmont area of Italy. It's simple made with just 4-5 ingredients and is served warm with crunchy crudites. There are so, so many recipes for bagna cauda out there but this is undoubtedly my favourite and the one that I have become known for making in my family. As an anchovy and garlic dip it is strong but I think this is more balanced than other ones. This is a pushy recipe if you love strong, umami flavours!

Bagna càuda (pronounced BAAN-yah KOW-dah) is a traditional dish from Italy's Piedmont region. Its name means "warm sauce" in the Piedmontese dialect. It is said to have originated in the Middle Ages and was created as a way to celebrate the end of the grape harvest.

Farmers and vineyard workers would share this dish which is made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil and sometimes butter because they were all easily available. Olive oil was imported from Liguria and anchovies preserved in salt were accessible due to Piedmont's proximity to the Mediterranean. This hot dish was traditionally served in a communal pot kept warm over a flame. Bagna càuda is served with raw and cooked vegetables including cardoons (artichoke thistle), Belgian endive, fennel and capsicum peppers.

Tips For Making Bagna Cauda

1 - Bagna Cauda is a very easy dip to make and takes little effort with just 5 ingredients. But I find that the anchovies that you use determine the final result as they are such an essential and large part of the dish. I use good quality Sicilian anchovies but go ahead and use any good quality anchovies (you may need to visit your Italian deli for the Sicilian ones). The weight of the tin I use is 95g/3.5ozs and you end up with 55g/2ozs of anchovies or 14 perfect anchovies once the oil is drained.

2 - Serve bagna cauda with raw or cooked vegetables as an appetiser. Vegetables like Belgian endive, carrot, celery, cucumber, capsicum peppers and fennel are great to have with this.

3 - Bagna cauda is traditionally served hot so place it in a small fondue or butter pot above a flame like a tealight to keep the sauce warm.

Other Dips That Go Well with Crudites

• Sunday Kitchen's Eggplant Dip
• Roasted Capsicum Red Pepper Dip
• Creamy, Smooth Hummus Recipe
• Easy Apple Onion Dip
• 5 Minute Easy Vegan Toum or Lebanese Garlic Sauce

I don't know if I mentioned before how in December I got myself a little Christmas project of renovating a sideboard. I have always wanted a refurbished Jacobean sideboard and our builder Peter and Mr NQN said that it would be easy enough.

I started off strong in early January by sanding the varnish off the drawers and doors but then this crazy Sydney weather intervened. We had a few good days of sun but mostly it was rainy or windy - to the point where the wind took down power lines and cut off internet etc. Soon it was the third week of January and I was just waiting for a day in which I could sit outside without being blown away or rained on. That day came on a Sunday. Mr NQN helped me bring the sideboard out and watched me as I sanded away.

"Are you having fun?" he asked.

"I HATE it. I have STRONG regrets," I told him in no uncertain terms. What was supposed to be a fun project had quickly soured to become a burden. Instead of giving me a nice diversion from work, it just added on more work. "All I want to do is relax in bed and watch Squid Games," I told him grumpily.

I think a part of him felt a bit bad for me as I had clearly bit off more than I could chew. So he grabbed the sander and started helping me. We worked on the sideboard together for 2 hours before I realised that it was time to make my bagna cauda for dinner.

Not wanting to disturb him or stop him doing the sanding I quietly slipped inside and put the first part on where you simmer the garlic cloves in milk. I came back outside a couple of minutes later and resumed sanding. After 20 minutes I did the second part of the recipe where I added the olive oil, anchovies and butter and blended it up. And this took about 5 minutes as did cutting up the crudites so that was a pre dinner snack ready without disturbing my help!

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried bagna cauda? Are you good at renovating and crafty things like that?

The Best Bagna Cauda

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

• 8 garlic cloves (40g/1.4ozs)

• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs milk (skim or full fat is fine)

• 14 Sicilian anchovy fillets (55g/2ozs, tinned weight with oil around 95g/3.5ozs)

• 2 tablespoons/30ml/1floz extra virgin olive oil

• 40g/1.4ozs butter

• Crudites to serve (endive, carrot, fennel , cucumber, celery)

Step 1 - Cut the garlic cloves in half and then place in a small saucepan with the milk. Bring to a simmer, place the lid on and simmer on low for 20 minutes until the garlic is soft.

Step 2 - Drain the milk (use it for a white sauce/bechamel) and wash the saucepan. Place back on low heat and add the soft garlic cloves, drained anchovy fillets and extra virgin olive oil. Heat up and allow anchovies to soft and melt, it will only take 5 minutes or less for them to break down. Add the butter.

Step 3 - Tilt the saucepan on the side and puree with an immersion blender. Serve warm, ideally in a fondue pot above a flame.