Bagna Cauda Day 2022: the appointment to celebrate, but above all savor, the dish par excellence of the Piedmontese gastronomic tradition. A party that has crossed national borders in which in two weekends, those of 25-26-27 November 2022 and 2-3-4 December 2022, many restaurants in the Piedmontese capital, but also abroad, will participate in the tenth edition of the delicious event offering bagna cauda for lunch and dinner at a fixed price.
The formula, therefore, remains the same as in previous editions with the price of reference of the dish that this year is of 28 €, (against 25 in previous editions). “A retouch that will help restaurateurs to at least partially offset the increase in costs”, explain the organizers. While for 12 euros you can taste a good Doc and Docg red wine offered directly by the producers in the participating establishments.
Bagna Cauda Day 2022: the novelty of this year is the "Sovrana"
About 150 establishments have already joined the 2022 edition. The bagna cauda, depending on the establishment, will be served in one of the three versions at traffic light: red light for "As God commands" (traditional), yellow light for the “heretical” one (with a little diluted garlic) and, finally, green light for “atheist” (without garlic) to allow everyone to enjoy this extraordinary traditional dish.
And for every self-respecting bagna cauda, the "after bagnacauda kit" will be available for those who want it, with "Kiss me now" toothpaste, magnesia, Molecola, Ab selection grappa, Barbero nougat.
New for the 2022 edition and the Bagna Sovereign with the possibility of offering a complete menu with bagna cauda in the center and other courses. In this case the price to the public varies according to the proposal. Some establishments offer the possibility of concluding the bagna cauda according to tradition with an egg cooked directly in the fujot "dusted" with a little grated Alba white truffle. The price of this addition will be based on the prices of the white truffle market.
I'm already online on place, the first 10 seats at the table. You book directly by calling or sending an email to the restaurant.
Bagna cauda: what is it?
The bagna cauda is a typical Piedmontese preparation based on garlic, anchovies desalted and deboned, cooked over low heat in olive oil, reducing everything to a sauce. It is consumed by dipping different types of vegetables seasonal usually divided between raw and cooked (thistles, baked onions, raw or roasted peppers, raw cabbage leaves, cauliflower, Jerusalem artichokes, beets, steamed potatoes, radishes, turnips and many others).
Over the centuries, different variations have spread with respect to the original recipewhich, however, remains the most widespread. According to what was deposited by the Asti delegation of theItalian Academy of Cuisine in 2005, the official recipe calls for a head of garlic per person, half a glass of extra virgin olive oil for each person and 50 grams of red Spanish anchovies each and a possible piece of butter to add at the end of cooking.
History
The history of this dish is very ancient. It was born from an act of cunning of the inhabitants of lower Piedmont. In ancient times, here, the salt came from the salt pans of Provence and the mouths of the Rhone by the "salt routes" that crossed the Maritime Alps. At the time, however, salt was expensive. That's when the traders came up not to pay the duties? They filled the barrels with salt for three quarters and on the surface they arranged a thick layer of anchovies, a poor and cheap fish, so that they managed to pass through customs without problems.
Obviously bagna cauda was rejected by the wealthier classes who considered it a "rough and unsuitable food for a refined diet", due to the excessive presence of garlic.
Many centuries have passed since those years, but bagna cauda is not just a poor dish, crude but a true convivial ritual which provides for the sharing of food collectively by the diners, who all draw it together from a single container formerly placed in the center of the table in an earthenware pan kept in temperature by means of an earthenware warmer filled with live embers, the scionfetta.
Bagna Cauda Day 2022: the original Piedmontese recipe
Ingredients for people 12
12 heads of garlic;
6 wine glasses of olive oil + a small glass of walnut oil;
6 ounces of red Spanish anchovies.
Equipment: a terracotta dian; a scionfetta or an earthenware warmer full of embers; in the absence, an alcohol stove; a wooden spoon; a flame arrester net if cooking with gas.
Method
Let's start with the garlic cloves: undress them and deprive them of the sprout, then cut them into slices.
Place the garlic in an earthenware pan, add a glass of oil and start cooking over a very low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon and making sure it does not brown. Then add the desalted, boned anchovies, washed in red wine and dried.
Cover everything with the remaining oil and cook the sauce over low heat for about half an hour, taking care that the sauce does not fry.
At the end of cooking you can add, if you like, a piece of very fresh butter.
Pour the syrup into the special earthenware stoves and accompany it with the vegetables:
- raw: Nizza Monferrato hunchback cardoons, Jerusalem artichokes, hearts of white cabbage, endive and escarole, fresh peppers and pickled peppers, raw spring onions quartered and dipped in Barbera wine;
- cooked: red beets, boiled potatoes, baked onions, fried pumpkin, roasted peppers.
It is tradition to collect the "thickness of the bath" at the end by scrambled inside the egg.
