Poh's bagna cauda

"Bagna cauda is a Piedmontese dish and a favourite of mine. I was first introduced to the idea of this dish by my friend and restaurateur Andre Ursini, but this recipe is Antonio Carluccio’s. If you’re not a fan of this salty little fish, now’s the time to try it, because there are few other dishes that give it such an elaborate dressing-up and there’s no better way to eat raw seasonal vegetables. Even my lovely Jono likes this when usually he wouldn’t touch an anchovy with a ten-foot pole." Poh Ling Yeow, Poh & Co.

Credit: Randy Larcombe Photography

• serves

  12

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Crudités

• 1 yellow capsicum
• 1 red capsicum
• 1 green capsicum
• 1 fennel bulb, fronds reserved for garnish
• 12 cauliflower florets
• 4 sticks celery
• 8 radishes
• 3 carrots

Bagna cauda

• 16 cloves garlic, peeled
• milk
• 30 small anchovy fillets
• 300 g good quality unsalted butter
• 200 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 100 ml cream (double cream if you want to be naughty)
• fresh or toasted slices of ciabatta (optional)

Instructions

To prepare the crudités, cut all the vegetables into irregular shapes which you imagine will be useful for scooping. For root vegetables I like to roll and slice on a steep diagonal and for veggies with a flattish surface like capsicum cut into elongated triangles. For cauliflower, slice the florets not too thinly, so you have flat trees. The fennel will oxidise quickly so cut at the last minute and use a sharp knife. If you are hell-bent on being prepared to the max, slice ahead of time and toss the fennel in some lemon juice, but this will only buy you more time, it won’t stop it from going brown altogether.

To make the bagna cauda, place the garlic in a small saucepan and cover with just enough milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the garlic is completely soft. Remove from the heat and crush the garlic into the milk with a fork. Add the anchovies and return to a low heat, stirring until they are dissolved, then blitz with a blender or stick blender until smooth. Add the butter and olive oil and stir until combined, then stir in the cream.

To serve, portion the bagna cauda into individual pots or in a single larger fondue dish at the centre of the table with a candle underneath to keep it warm. The vegetables can also be portioned out or scattered beautifully onto a communal platter. Then it’s simply a matter of dipping and mopping the remainder up with the bread, but between you and me, I’d happily drench a steak with the leftovers.

Note

• If you can find and afford heirloom or baby vegetables, these will add interest and an ornamental touch to the dish. Also, the vegetables I’ve chosen are just a guide. By all means do your own thing as long as seasonality is king.

Learn to cook with Poh Ling Yeow and friends on Poh & Co.

Photograph by Randy Larcombe Photography.

Reproduced with permission from the book Same Same But Different by Poh Ling Yeow, published by ABC Books/HarperCollins Publishers Australia, 2014.

Discover Italy's other beloved dishes deemed 'too ugly for Instagram'. Listen to Scarrafoni in Cucina: The Ugly Ducklings of Italian Cuisine, a podcast from SBS Italian, in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or the SBS Radio app.”

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.