Bagna Caoda & Other Things

I had been planning to do a feature dedicated to stuffed bell peppers, but got sidetracked by a recipe for bagna caoda with roasted peppers, which brought back memories of a very nice meal Nadia Cogno prepared for Frank, Michael and me when we were on a wine tasting trip to Piemonte. The highlight of the meal was her husband Walter’s decision to break out a 29-year-old bottle of Barolo Marcarini her father had made, but the peppers were a close second.

First, a brief parenthesis:

Bagna Caoda (literally "hot sauce"), as Walter explained, arises from the interaction between land and sea, with the anchovies and olive oil brought overland by the Ligurian traders combining delightfully with the garlic grown inland. Though one normally doesn't associate garlic with Piemontese cooking, this is the exception that confirms the rule, and is also the symbol of joyful conviviality, the classic centerpiece around which friends gather to renew the bonds that tie, serving the sauce in a bowl, and providing the diners with raw vegetables to dip in it, bread to accompany it, and rivers of Barbera or Dolcetto to wash it down.

To make a Bagna Caoda for six will take about 2 hours, and require:

• 5 heads garlic
• 3 cups good extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound salted anchovies (buy these at a delicatessen, or use canned anchovies packed in oil if you cannot find the variety just packed in salt)
• 1 quart fresh whole milk
• The vegetables:
• What ever is in season and suits your fancy; traditionally one would expect:
  • Raw, cut into strips or bite-sized pieces: 2 cardoons (if these are not available where you live substitute 3-4 sticks white celery), 2 yellow bell peppers, a head of Savoy cabbage
  • Cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces: 2 baked beets, 2 roasted bell peppers, a head of cauliflower, steamed, 6 potatoes, steamed, 6 carrots, steamed.

Begin by peeling the heads of garlic. Set the cloves in a pot with the milk, and simmer them for an hour. While the garlic is simmering hold the anchovies by their tails and run your fingers down their sides to eliminate most of the salt that's sticking to them, then split, scale, and bone them. Next, prepare the vegetables, and arrange them on a serving dish.

After the garlic has simmered discard the milk and crush the cloves with a fork in a bowl. Work the olive oil into the garlic together with the anchovy filets, and stir the mixture over a gentle flame until the fish filets have come apart and the sauce is uniformly creamy.

The Bagna Caoda is now ready; divvy it out into 6 bowls, and serve it with the vegetables and freshly baked bread.

This recipe is translated from Slow Food's Ricette delle Osterie di Langa, a collection of recipes from the best restaurants around Alba; the editors note that a bagna caoda is wonderful if you don't have to meet someone later "for business or randy pleasures," and that a good bagna caoda can easily be expanded into a meal, with the assistance of hot bowls of broth and pears cooked in wine. One could certainly do much worse.

The editors also note that recipes from the 1800s call for just cardoons and peppers as vegetables, and that they were aimed at sterner stomachs: No simmering the garlic in milk to temper it -- half was mashed and half was sliced finely, but all was raw until it hit the oil, and no boning of the anchovies -- the excess salt was wiped away before they went into the oil, and the crunchiness of the bones was much appreciated. Rather than go into individual bowls, the bagna caoda would go into a larger bowl all would dip their vegetables into, taking breaks every now and again when the sauce was reheated.

Returning to Peperoni con Bagna Caoda, you will need to make the bagna caoda sauce described above. You will also need three bell peppers (a variety of colors will make for a prettier dish), 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt.

While the garlic is simmering in the milk, wash the peppers, dry them, rub them with olive oil, salt them, and bake them in a 425-degree (200 C) oven for an hour. As soon as they have cooled enough so you can touch them, scrape away the skins and cut them into strips, discarding ribs and seeds.

Lay the strips on a serving dish, spoon the bagna caoda over them, and serve. A fantastic appetizer!

Serves 6.

A printer-friendly version of the above.

Brodo -- Broth

Broth is one of the great inventions of all time. It serves as in ingredient in all sorts of things, from stew to risotto, and in its own right a bowl of broth is the perfect supper after a filling midday meal. For that matter, broth with tortellini or cappelletti is a standard first course at festive dinners in Northern Italy. A good bowl of broth will warm you in the winter, refresh you in the summer, and is perfect year round if you’re on a diet.

• 2-3 quarts of water
• 2 pounds of beef, either shanks, short plate, short ribs, or brisket.
• A piece of spongy bone, or a joint, split (optional)
• Half a chicken or capon
• A stick of celery
• A carrot
• A bunch of parsley
• A bunch of basil, if it’s in season
• A quarter onion (optional)
• A tomato (optional)
• 2 or 3 pepper corns
• Salt to taste – go easy, because the broth will evaporate and get saltier as it cooks

Meat from older animals is better because it has more flavor, and the beef should not be too lean. A piece of spongy bone, or a joint, split, enriches the broth, though it also makes it greasier. If you want to keep the meat of the fowl from discoloring put it in a finely woven bag – it will cook just the same, and the broth will not be affected.

Start with cold water; figure about a quart of water per pound of meat. Add the meat, vegetables, and seasonings to the water at the same time. Heat the pot over a high flame until the broth comes to a boil, and then turn the heat down. Simmer the broth for a couple of hours, or until a fork easily penetrates the meat. Check the seasoning, strain the broth, let it cool, and skim the fat that rises to the surface (the best way to do this is to chill the broth and remove the fat with a fork). Use the broth to make soups or serve it by itself. When serving plain broth, most Italians will add a couple of tablespoons of fine pasta such as crumbled angel hairs to the soup pot.

Serve the meat as boiled dinner, with the sauces and vegetables you prefer.

Note: if you are pressed for time, you can make broth from these ingredients in a pressure cooker, in about thirty-five minutes. The result isn’t quite as good, but it’s much faster.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

This is from a collection of first course dishes I am working on.

Pere al Vino -- Pears in Wine

Another Piemontese dish, this is traditionally made with Martin Sec pears, a small golden-russet variety whose slightly grainy flesh is especially suited to being cooked.

To serve 6 you will need an hour's preparation time, and:

• 2 1/4 pounds pears
• 20 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks (about 4 inches of cinnamon stick)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 quart Barbaresco or other tannic, full bodied dry red wine (Nebbiolo di Langa or Roero will also work)

Wash and dry the pears. Bring the wine to a boil, with 2/3 cup sugar, the cloves, and the cinnamon. Add the pears and cook covered for about 45 minutes, at a steady boil, taking the lid off every now and again to check the level of the wine, which should cover the pears. When the pears are cooked transfer them to a platter with a slotted spoon. Strain the sauce, and, if it is too runny, cook it down until it thickens somewhat. Then pour it over the pears and sprinkle them with the remaining sugar as well. Serve cold.

This is also from Ricette delle Osterie di Langa.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Casale Falchini

A few months ago I posted an itinerary of San Gimignano, Tuscany's town of the Fair Towers, with notes on four of the top Vernaccia producers. Riccardo Falchini's current releases weren't ready for tasting at the time, so I took advantage of his presence at Vinitaly, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fattoria Casale 1997 Vigna a Solatio is a pale gold with yellow highlights, and has an elegant floral bouquet with clean Vernaccia notes overlain by faint bitterness. On the palate the wine is full, with nice fruit, and is smooth, with well balanced bitter notes on the finish. It will go nicely with rich fish dishes, including crustaceans, vegetarian dishes, and Chinese cooking, especially Cantonese.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fattoria Casale 1996 Vigna a Solatio Riserva is a more charged gold color, and has an elegant bouquet with wisteria and other floral notes well complemented by vanilla and spice from wood. On the palate the wine is full, with nice fruit, clean honeysuckle, and a pleasingly languid texture that's well complimented but not overpowered by the wood. The finish is clean and long, and pleasant; the wine will go well with fish, vegetarian cuisine, white meats, and mild cheese.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Fattoria Casale Vinea Doni is similar to the Riserva but aged less. The wine is a pale gold, and has a clean, elegant bouquet with nice floral notes and pleasing bitter overtones. On the palate it is rich, with nice fruit and a very clean faintly citrus finish. It will go nicely with fish, white meats, cheeses, and grilled foods.

Casale Falchini Metodo Classico is something quite different -- a very fine sparkling wine made from Vernaccia grapes, using the classic method developed by Dom Perignon. It's a pale gold with a fine perlage, and has a clean, rich floral bouquet laced with bread crumbs. On the palate the wine has nice fruit, and though dry is not absolutely brut; the finish is clean, with faint lemon overtones, and quite complex. Quite a nice sparkling wine, well suited to a special occasion.

Casale Falchini Chianti Colli Senesi Titolato 1996 is a blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo; it’s a deep ruby color with pink highlights, and has an elegant warm bouquet with nice floral notes and berry fruit well balanced by wood. On the palate it’s full and rich, with powerful, well rounded sweet tannins and a clean finish with gentle hints of wood. A fine wine, especially considering the year (the 97 barrel sample I tasted promises to be much better), which will be excellent with red meats roasted or stewed.

Casale Falchini Paretaio 1994 is Sangiovese in purezza. It's a ruby tending towards garnet, with garnet highlights, and has a clean, heady bouquet with lots of fruit nicely balanced by wood. On the palate it’s lush, warm and well rounded, with very smooth sweet tannins and a clean finish with fruit again well balanced by wood. It will go quite nicely with roasts, game, and mild aged cheeses. Quite pleasant.

Casale Falchini Paretaio 1995 is a fresher red, with pink highlights; its bouquet is more elegant than that of the 94 (95 was a better year), with more fruit, especially berries. On the palate it’s full and warm, though the tannins still have a faint burr of youth, and extremely well balanced. Worth seeking out and setting aside for a dinner with a roast or game in a few years.

Casale Falchini’s Campora has been rated the best Supertuscan more than once, and I was curious to try it. The 1994 vintage is a deep purplish red with a paler purple rim, and has an elegant bouquet in which spice, fruit and wood are delicately blended. On the palate the wine is big and clean, with nice fruit and a slight burr to the tannins; the finish is long, clean, and laced with oak. An extremely elegant wine that’s very nice to drink, it will go well with roasts, game, cheeses, and grilled meats now. In a few years it will be nice to sip around the fire with friends.

Casale Falchini’s 1993 Vinsanto is a deep gold color, and has a warm, vinous bouquet with raisins, dried fruit, almonds, and honey, among other complexities. On the palate it is extremely rich, sweet, and has a long, delicate almond finish. Definitely worth seeking out.

Good Food & Drink,
Kyle Phillips

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Cardoons, cardi in Italian, are a close relative of the artichoke, but lack the flower -- one eats the stems, which are similar in appearance to celery but have a delicate artichoke taste. They're quite fibrous, and before you eat them you should peel away the fibers. Cut the bottom of the cardoon stem just above where it went into the ground, grip the fibers that emerge from the cut along the rounded outer edge between your thumb and the knife blade, and peel them away as you would the fibers in the back of a stick of celery.
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Recipe credits as above, all translations, tasting notes & photos © Kyle Phillips. Label kindly provided by Riccardo Falchini.