Bagna Cauda(Warm Dipping Sauce)

* Exported from MasterCook Buster *

Bagna Cauda (Warm Dipping Sauce)

Recipe By : Marion Cunningham, LATimes 08/19/98(wed)
Serving Size : 96 Preparation Time :0:30
Categories : Appetizers Vegetarian
Italy

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups olive oil
6 cloves garlic -- finely chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
10 anchovies -- drained
and finely chopped
salt -- optional
assorted vegetables -- for serving

Serve with a platter of raw or grilled vegetables, such as celery,
zucchini, carrots, fennel, individual Belgian endive leaves and bell pepper
strips. Spear vegetable pieces on a fork and dip in hot sauce for a few
seconds.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and
cook, stirring, until slightly softened but not browned, about 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and add remaining 1 1/4 cups olive oil, butter and
anchovies. Return pan to medium heat and stir to mix thoroughly. Taste and
add salt if needed (anchovies are salty).

Remove from heat and serve. (Sauce may be made ahead and kept refrigerated
in covered jar.)

[2 cups. Each 1-teaspoon serving without vegetables: 39 calories; 25 mg
sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 0 carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.]

* * * Bagna cauda, which means hot bath, is a classic sauce from Piedmont,
Italy. It is usually kept hot in a pot over a flame, but it can be
presented at the table in a serving dish or in individual small bowls
without the flame.

Bagna cauda is made with olive oil, butter, garlic and anchovies. Most
Americans have not welcomed anchovies into their kitchens, but this recipe
might make you an anchovy fan.

Raw vegetables cut into bite-size pieces are speared on a long prong-like
fork and held in the hot sauce for a few seconds to flavor them. In Italy,
the most common vegetables eaten with bagna cauda are fennel, cauliflower,
cabbage and sweet peppers, but any vegetable that is good to eat raw will
work fine. If crunchy vegetables don't appeal to you, blanch the vegetable
pieces in salted boiling water for a few seconds to a minute, until they
soften a bit. Serve over potato salad, pasta or steamed small red potatoes.

SOURCES. Recipe taken from "Home Cook : Feeling A Bit Veggie?" By Marion
Cunningham !We got this recipe from the LA Times. Mastercook editing by
kitpath@earthlink.net

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