Summer Bagna Cauda Food

BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Put the oil in a pan with the garlic and anchovies and cook over low heat, stirring, until you have a melted, muddy mess. Everything should begin to meld together. Whisk in 6 tablespoons of butter, and as soon as it has melted, remove from the heat and give a few more beats of your whisk so that everything is creamy and amalgamated. Taste, and if you feel you want this as a dipping sauce - which is meant to be pungent but not acrid. If you want the sauce a little more mellow, whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour into a dish that, ideally, fits over a flame so that it does not get cold at the table.
• Dip in the crudites and eat.

SUMMER BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Put milk into a shallow dish. Add anchovy fillets; soak 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels; pat dry. Coarsely chop.
• Put 1/4 cup oil and the garlic into a small saucepan over low heat. Cook until garlic softens but does not brown, about 5 minutes. Add anchovies. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Add butter. Cook, whisking, until butter has melted.
• Remove pan from heat. Whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup oil in a slow, steady stream until mixture thickens and comes together. If the mixture separates at any point, add 2 ice cubes, and whisk until mixture comes together; remove partially melted ice cubes.
• Whisk in lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature with the vegetables.

SPRING VEGETABLE BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Wash the vegetables in a large bowl of cold water and blot dry. Trim the fennel of any stringy layers, and slice thinly crosswise. Peel the outer leaves of the artichokes to reveal the pale green hearts, and slice into thin wedges. Peel the carrots and slice lengthwise. Cut the cauliflower into thin slices, or break it up into small florets. Separate the leaves of the Belgian endive and radicchio or Treviso. Snap off and discard the tough bottom ends of the asparagus and slice the spears into quarters lengthwise. Cut the turnips and radishes into quarters, leaving the tops attached, or leave whole if they are small. Clean the spring onions and slice in half lengthwise. Sprinkle everything lightly with sea salt and arrange the vegetables on a platter, tossing them together to create a colorful display. Scatter the fava beans over the top.
• Rinse and fillet the anchovies. In a mortar, pound the garlic to a paste with a little salt and pepper. Add the anchovies and pound until roughly mashed. Warm the olive oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add half the anchovy mixture, the red wine vinegar, and lemon zest, and gently simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining anchovy mixture, taste for salt and pepper, and transfer the sauce to a warmed bowl or individual ramekins.

BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• In a hot pan, pour a good amount of olive oil in. When the oil starts to warm up, add garlic and turn the flame down.
• Add the anchovies, if using (don't worry about mincing them as they will dissolve in the mixture). The anchovies should cook in the garlic oil until the garlic becomes brown and the anchovies dissolve.
• When the garlic gets light brown, about 5 minutes, add chili flakes until they toast up and then turn flame off. Add more olive oil and salt and pepper for flavor.
• Right before you heat the sauce in your fondue pot, add some minced parsley to cook in the sauce.

BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, cook garlic paste and sliced garlic in olive oil with anchovies over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes (do not let garlic brown).
• Stir butter and milk into mixture and transfer to a fondue pot.
• Serve warm with accompanying vegetables.

GARDEN CRUDITES WITH BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Bagna Cauda:Pulse garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add anchovies, oil, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice and pulse to a loose paste.
• Transfer mixture to a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Stir in parsley; season with coarse salt and pepper. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water, if necessary, to thin mixture to consistency of a loose dip.
• Crudites:Arrange vegetables on a platter or a large, shallow bowl filled with ice. Serve, topped with fennel fronds and sprinkled with sea salt, alongside bagna cauda for dipping.

CLASSIC BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Place all ingredients in a heavy fondue pot, or saucepan, and simmer on LOW for 5 minutes.
• Serve with a platter of bite-size young vegetables (thinly sliced if the vegetables are fibrous), such as carrots, artichoke hearts, celery, cherry tomatoes, green pepper, zucchini, Belgian endive, and cabbage leaves.
• Or serve with bread cubes for dipping.
• Let the guests dip their choices into the warm sauce with fondue forks.