This cardoon recipe is typical of the middle class in Torino. We're essentially dealing with a refined version of bagna caoda -- no garlic, and enriched with truffles.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- Cardoons (about a pound)
- The juice of a lemon
- An abundant quarter cup unsalted butter
- Olive Oil
- 4-5 salted anchovies (buy these at your delicatessen)
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- A small white truffle (though a nice touch, this is optional)
Preparation:
Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to a bowl of water. Wash the cardoons, strip out the fibers, cut them into 2 to 3-inch pieces, and put the pieces in the water to keep them from darkening.
Scale and bone the anchovies, discarding head and tail if need be, and grind them up. Work them with the butter to obtain a smooth creamy sauce, adding a little olive oil as necessary, and flavoring everything with a goodly pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Slice the truffle thinly over the butter sauce, drain the cardoons and arrange them on a plate, and serve as an antipasto.
This will go well with a white wine, for example a Roero Arneis.
Scale and bone the anchovies, discarding head and tail if need be, and grind them up. Work them with the butter to obtain a smooth creamy sauce, adding a little olive oil as necessary, and flavoring everything with a goodly pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Slice the truffle thinly over the butter sauce, drain the cardoons and arrange them on a plate, and serve as an antipasto.
This will go well with a white wine, for example a Roero Arneis.
