Bagna cauda
A favorite from Piemonte.
We topped some polenta cakes and red peppers with this earthy and dense sauce.
- 6 garlic heads, peeled and core removed
- 12 oz of salted anchovies, deboned and washed with red wine
- 4 cups of milk
- 2+ cups of oil
- 1 cup of whipping cream
Open garlic heads, separate cloves, peel them and cut longitudinally to remove the core.
Place in a bowl, cover completely with milk and let stand in a fresh spot for the night having care to cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap.
Drain the garlic and discard the milk.
Place the pot on a stove, cover completely with milk again and let slowly simmer until the garlic begins to melt.
Let the mixture cook slowly until a creamy texture is obtained.
It requires slow simmering and continuous care to prevent the sauce from drying up.
Add the anchovies and simmer until completely melted and blended in the garlic mixture.
Slowly add oil as needed to create a smooth cream, about 2 cups.
When the mixture comes to a slow boil again, pour the whipping cream and bring back to a slow boil/simmering.
Divide in small portions and serve on butter warmers to help the sauce keep the temperature.
The Bagna Cauda can be eaten with many different vegetables (raw, parboiled or boiled), such as: celery stalks, roasted bell pepper, fennel, boiled fingerling potatoes and jerusalem artichokes or parboiled green cabbage, red radicchio, onion, turnips, parsnips, and white cardoon.
A classic food sketch taken while attending a scientific session that turned out to be boring.
From the wonders of curried cabbage to a persian polo with some simple white fish. Argan or curry oil to finish.
Easy romesco sauce
Thanks to 2009 and 2010 Slow Food Crab Fest I had the opportunity to make another seminal change in my life. After Roy Yamaguchi turned me into a fish eater 4 years ago and I became a fan of offal, I think I became a close friend of crabs. You could tell from the pile of shells in front of me at the volunteers’ table. I probably always just had the wrong crabs, frozen and thawed who knows how many times. The dungeness crab came fresh off the boat in the morning and cooked by the California Culinary Academy students in the afternoon…(15 minutes, that’s it, no more, as they suggested, otherwise they become chewy).
Crabs came with classic melted butter, a spicy oil and a romesco sauce that caught my attention.
Not the classic garlicky, faded red smooshed puree of pepper paste but rather a smoky paste with a great flavor depth. Goes without saying that I came home and started experimenting.
- 3 dried poblano chiles (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes)
- a pinch of smoked salt
- a handful of almonds
- ¼ tsp of smoked paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
- extra virgin olive oil
Remove the seeds inside the peppers, throw everything in your favorite food processor and make the engine whizz while adding some olive oil (just the amount necessary to create a paste, leave it coarse, don’t puree the sauce)
Crusty bread, best friend, but probably also a good slice of manchego or good cheddar.
