Bagna cauda, or “hot dip,” is a dish originating from Piemont, Italy. It consists of a garlic and anchovy sauce, served in the fojòt, a small pot heated with a candle. Raw and cooked vegetables are then dipped in the hot oily sauce. It’s like fondue but with more garlic and anchovies. The vegetables used vary from town to town, from household to household, and depend mainly on the season. The treatment of the vegetables is almost always very simple and minimalistic, usually just boiled in salted water. The strong, rich dip is responsible for the (amazing) flavor.
As with everything else, we wanted to bring our twist to the dish. Instead of using it as a dip, we made an extra smooth and creamy ‘bagna’ and used it as a base for pan-seared porcini mushrooms, topped with a light mizuna salad and toasted hazelnuts. The latter is our attempt to pay homage to the Piedmontese origins, the home of the best hazelnuts. Hazelnut oil was also often used in early versions of banga cauda, and we use it a little in the salad dressing.
Garlic without the stink
There’s a lot of garlic in the bagna cauda. The official rule of thumb says at least 5 cloves per person, so in this case15 to 20 garlic cloves. And yet, it’s not too garlicky. But how is that even possible? With this cheeky little trick: The garlic must first be deveined (the green stalk removed) before being cooked in a mixture of milk and water (we even saw a version where it’s cooked in Piemontese Barolo wine, which we’re dying to try). You’ll have to replace the liquid three times. This procedure not only cooks and softens the garlic but also tones it down, diminishing the dreaded garlic breath after-effect to a mere fainted memory of itself. Don’t be fooled, the bagna cauda is still a garlicky sauce, but it’s not too overpowering or stinky. Kissing is allowed and even recommended, as long as there’s consent. Apart from the somewhat laborious process of de-stenching the garlic, this is an incredibly simple recipe, just garlic, anchovies, and olive oil.
As for the anchovies, we went with salt-packed ones, as most Nonnas recommended, we assume they give a brighter flavor, but good quality oil-packed ones will also work well.
Porcini Mushrooms, or Ceps, are in season now and we just had to use them. They’re expensive, and cleaning them isn’t our favorite job in the kitchen, but they’re well worth it and go fantastically well with the rich garlic sauce, savory anchovies, sour-bitter salad, and nutty nuts.
Ingredients for making bagna cauda:
- 15-20 garlic cloves (yes, really) peeled and deveined
- 10 filets of anchovy, ideally salt-packed
- About 200 g of milk
- 200 g olive oil
Ingredients for the seared porcini:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Fresh porcini mushrooms, cleaned
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- Salt
- 20 g butter
Salad ingredients:
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp white balsamic
- A good pinch of flaky salt
- Pepper
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp hazelnut oil (optional, but nice)
- Bitter salad leaves: we used mizuna, but arugula or watercress is also great
- A handful of toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
Some tips to prepare the bagna cauda:
- Don’t skip switching out the milk to your bagna cauda will get too intense and overpower the other ingredients.
- Throw away the milk mix. Trust us; some things are not meant to be reused.
Some tips for preparing porcini mushrooms:
- Don’t wash. Just use a small knife to scrape off the dirt. If necessary, you can use a damp kitchen towel to rub the mushrooms clean carefully.
- Add the butter near the end to allow some browning but prevent the butter from burning.
The dressing
- This dressing is a basic recipe that goes with almost every salad. We added hazelnuts and hazelnut oil. The nutty aromas go well with the porcini mushrooms.
- Adding roasted nuts and nut oil allows for a more intense flavor and is one of the easiest ways to give your salad a little extra.
Bagna Cauda With Porcini Mushrooms
Ingredients
Bagna Cauda:
- 15-20 garlic cloves yes, really peeled and deveined
- 10 filets of anchovy ideally salt-packed
- About 200 g of milk
- 200 g olive oil
Seared Porcini Mushrooms:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Fresh ceps porcini, cleaned
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
- Salt
- 20 g butter
Salad:
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp white balsamic
- a good pinch of flaky salt
- pepper
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp hazelnut oil optional, but nice
- bitter salad leaves We used mizuna but arugula or watercress is also great
- a handful toasted hazelnuts coarsely chopped
Instructions
To make the bagna cauda:
- If using salt-packed anchovies, rinse and let them swim one last time in a small water bowl for about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, about a third of the milk, and enough water to cover the garlic in a small saucepan. Gently bring to a boil, drain, discarding the milk. Repeat twice; the third time, continue cooking until the garlic is completely soft before discarding the milk.
- Add the garlic, anchovies, and about a third of the olive oil, and saute until the anchovies break down. Transfer into a tall jug and blend with a stick blender while streaming the rest of the oil.
- You might need to add a splash of water to get to a smooth, creamy consistency.
For the porcini mushrooms:
- Heat the oil in a pan, add the mushrooms, and cut the side down. Add the rosemary and thyme. Saute on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Add the butter and move it around to make sure everybody gets some. After about a minute, the mushrooms should be well browned, turn them and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, pushing them to one side and tilting the pan so they bathe in butter.
- Remove from the pan.
For the salad:
- Whisk all together, and toss in the mizuna leaves.
To plate:
- Spread 2-3 tbsp of the bagna cauda on a plate. Arrange the cops on top, add the mizuna and sprinkle over the hazelnuts.
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