Bagna Cauda (Hot Garlic and Anchovy Sauce)

Author Notes

This is a traditional autumn recipe from Piedmonte. As this recipe is a celebratory fall dish, it usually features typical seasonal vegetables. Purists will say to only serve this with peppers (raw or grilled, then cut into strips) or raw sticks of cardoons (artichoke thistles, which are a specialty of the area of Nizza Monferrato in the province of Asti). But you'll often see boiled potatoes (if there's anything that's meant to be paired together forever, it's anchovies and potatoes), onions (roasted whole, in their skins, then cut into wedges), raw cabbage leaves, cauliflower, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes, or celery sticks, to give a few more ideas.

To keep it warm during the meal, *bagna cauda* (which literally means "hot sauce") is usually served in a terra cotta bowl built over a candle or a flame (known as a *fujot* in dialect). You can also serve it as a flavorful sauce with roast meat or dolloped onto squares of fried polenta. My personal favorite use for it is stirred through some softly scrambled eggs or even tossed through pasta. —Emiko