This coveted Magelli Family recipe comes courtesy of Aunt Theresa (Magelli) Swason. Reportedly from the Piedmont region of Italy, the delicious and pungent garlic dip means warm bath. Enjoy!
Bagna Caulda
This is a great dish for a party in the middle of winter; it’s often served at New Year’s Eveparties. If you have a small kitchen, you can spread cheap plastic tablecloths on the floor of your dining room. You really don’t want to have to clean the drips out of the carpet.
4 sticks butter
6-8 oz. chopped garlic
1 lb of anchovies
8+ oz whipped cream
Fresh vegetables: cabbage cut in wedges; carrots, celery, pickled peppers (if you are lucky enough to have them; Chinese cabbage, etc., etc., etc.
Thick slices of Italian or homemade bread
In an electric skillet, melt about a pound of butter and stir in about a half -pound of minced garlic. Cook until garlic is light brown and add about a pound of anchovies. Cook until the mixture is all dissolved and add about a cup of whipping cream. Cook until mixture is like thick gravy. Add more cream and butter as necessary. Enjoy like a fondue, dipping vegetables and catching the drips on the bread.
Beware of imitations. We were at a really fancy Italian place where they did all the cooking in front of you. They served this dish of hot olive oil with browned garlic and a couple of chopped anchovies and called it bagna caulda. Needless to say, we never went back there! I’ve also found several recipes on the ‘net – but none were as good as ours.