Bagna Càuda

Bagna càuda
Piedmontese sauce, icon of the regional cuisine, made from garlic and anchovies slowly cooked in olive
oil, until they become a thin beige sauce.

Description and usage

Bagna càuda is salty and flavoury; like many other Piedmontese dishes it contains a lot of garlic, that for many people can result stodgy and not a blessing for your breath.

Its very intense flavour compensate the vegetables which it's intended to match with.
In fact, bagna càuda is typically eaten with cardoons, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, beetroots, radish and turnips.

Originally it was eaten from a single terracotta vessel named "dian"; however because of lack of hygene caused by everyone dipping bit vegetables, now it's commonly served in "fojòt": same as dian but personal.
This vessels were intended to carry and keep the sauce hot, because in the bottom part, they have a hole for glowing embers.

Bagna càuda has been spread through Argentina and Usa by immigrants and in Japan, through tv sponsorship since the '90.

History

Bagna càuda hailed from South Piedmont farmers, that back in time really struggled to live.
They had to make an accompaniament, so tasty, that even the cheapest vegetables they grew and could afford not to sell, would be less dull and miserable when eaten.

Upper class and nobility refused to enjoy bagna càuda: it came from the poorest people, and they were too concerned for their breath because of high garlic presence.

Why a fish based dish in a landlocked region?

In spite of Piedmont not having sea acces, Piedmontese people had large amounts of anchovies, because back in Savoy rule times, Nice was under their control, and fish, along with salt was commonly sold in the rest of the state.

Legends about bagna càuda

  • "Anchovies were used for peasant because these fish were only used to cover up and hide the salt to avoid salt gabelle".
    ❎ False, salt gabelle were paid by everyone, indipendently from consumes.
  • "Olive oil was originally nut oil, because olive oil is only produced on the shores".
    ❎ False, olive oil was produced for centuries in South Piedmont.

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