Bagna cauda is a traditional dish from my region of Italy in the far northwest—Piemonte! Bagna cauda is not an Italian name; rather, it comes from the Piemontese dialect, meaning "warm bath." It’s a dipping sauce made from olive oil, garlic, and anchovies. Smelly, right? There’s even a folktale that says people who eat bagna cauda together are bonded for life because no one else wants to hang out with them after that bad breath!
Bagna cauda is always a communal dish. People take turns dipping seasonal vegetables like celery, cardoons, radicchio, fennel, onions, potatoes, and even polenta into the pungent sauce.
At first, I was hesitant to try such an intense and stinky food. However, the shared discomfort at the table brings everyone together! The strong flavors of garlic and oily fish are well-balanced by the crunchy vegetables and warm polenta. We all had a great time experimenting with different vegetables in the sauce. My favorites were the cardoons and fennel!
