The recipe comes from an act of cunning of the inhabitants of lower Piedmont. In fact, here in ancient times the salt came from the salt pans of Provence and the mouths of the Rhone by the "salt routes" that crossed the Maritime Alps. There was the problem of the heavy toll taxes imposed by the authorities which followed the supply of salt over the centuries. So what did traders invent to make money and not pay duties? They filled the tubs with salt for three quarters and on the surface they placed a thick layer of anchovies, a poor and cheap fish, so that they managed to pass customs easily.
Thus anchovies conquered a respectable place in the food traditions of the populations of lower Piedmont as evidenced by typical dishes such as anciove al bagnèt verd or al bagnèt ross
But certainly the most important, the most celebrated, the best known and the most loved and, despite its well-defined flavour, is the Bagna cauda. An event that has now become international is destined for her, the Bagna cauda day which is held for the two weekends between November and December. a party that has gone beyond national borders in which in those two weekends in Italy and abroad hundreds of restaurants, associations, trattorias and cellars will give life to a day based on Bagna Cauda.
The organization is not insignificant. On the website www.bagnacaudaday.it there are lists of all the restaurants participating in the initiative, divided by geographical area. Because – and here the question gets serious – each territory has its own recipe according to the areas in which it is cooked. And then there is the Asti area, that of Monferrato, that of the Langhe, the Turin area, and that of upper Piedmont. And there are also branches abroad.
For each venue, a form is published with the number of seats made available. The reference price is extremely popular: €25 for everyone. And there will also be a traffic light to let you know what type of Bagna cauda you will eat: red light is equivalent to a bagna cauda "as God commands", yellow light to a "heretical" bagna cauda, i.e. with variations; green light to an “atheistic” bagna cauda – and we understand why: it is without garlic, that is, without its fundamental flavor – and a delicate bagna cauda is also foreseen that marries the truffle.
You say Bagna cauda but in reality you're not just talking about a dish from the poor agricultural tradition that could only afford oil and vegetables. It is a dish that has a historical and social value, an ancient convivial ritual that provides for the sharing of food collectively by the diners who all draw together from a single container formerly placed in the center of the table in an earthenware pan kept in temperature using an earthenware heater filled with live embers, the scionfetta. Ancient tradition wanted everyone to dip vegetables and bread in a single container. With health precautions in place and not starting today, this is just a memory. What is not a memory and that yesterday as today bagna cauda is accompanied by a generous drink of full-bodied red wines such as Barbera, Nebbiolo Barbaresco or Dolcetto
Due to its popular and community aspect, bagna cauda was rejected for a long time by the more ambient classes who considered it a crude food and unsuitable for a refined diet. Then there was the problem of the full-bodied presence of garlic that made damsels and spirited knights desist from using it.
A curiosity: it has been said that there are different variations of bagna cauda depending on the regions and places where it is cooked but there is also an official, canonical recipe, even deposited with a notary in Costigliole d'Asti by the Asti delegation of the Italian Academy of Cuisine which provides for the exclusive use of a head of garlic per person, half a glass of extra virgin olive oil per person, 50 grams of red Spanish anchovies per person, and a possible piece of butter to be added at the end of cooking.
For the record, bagna cauda is a very common dish in Argentina. The emigrated Piedmontese brought it, it was very popular to the point that since 1970 a National Fiesta of the bagna cauda has been celebrated Fiesta Nacional de la Bagna Cauda in Calchin Oeste, in the province of Cordoba.
The bagna càuda is also very popular under the name of bañacauda in Argentina, where it arrived in the last years of the 30th century with the many Piedmontese who emigrated to South America. In the town of Calchin Oeste, in the province of Córdoba, the Fiesta Nacional de la Bagna Cauda takes place. And another has been celebrated for XNUMX years now in Humberto Primo, in the province of Santa Fe. But it is also very popular in Japan, presented in Tokyo in the mid-nineties by a Braidese gastronome during local television broadcasts, it quickly spread to become very popular throughout the country.
Finally, five years ago the proposal was presented to nominate the bagna càuda for UNESCO as an intangible heritage of humanity; the candidacy dossier is being prepared by the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo.
