Bagna Cauda

A professional chef made this for us the first time we tried it and we were hooked. Though his version was equal parts EVOO and butter, anchovies to taste (we use 1 can per cup of EVOO). We serve raw whole garlic cloves on the side because they get bitter when cooked. The whole thing was put in a large electric skillet in the middle of the table and each person chose from uncooked items (bite sized pieces of raw meats, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and onion, halved mushrooms, wedges of cabbage, etc… You put your items in the space in the skillet nearest you and visit while it all cooks, removing the items that are ready to eat to a chunk of French or artisan bread to drain. When you’re done, you can eat the bread if you’d like. There’s so much flavor in it! I guess using the cream rather than butter would make it more of a traditional fondue, for dipping ready to eat items. I’ll have to try that sometime.

I don’t like anchovies so I use tuna fish. An Italian friend made it this way when I was younger and I’ve always loved it. It’s really good using Bok Choy to dip it with.

I’ve been eating and making this since being introduced to it by my husband’s Italian grandma in the Illinois Valley. This is now our go-to recipe, especially for Fridays in Lent, when we dip shrimp, red peppers, celery and crusty bread in it for dinner. It’s amazing — but perhaps an acquired taste!

I made this as a dip for New Year’s Eve and it was phenomenal! My husband and I both loved it. This will become a staple go-to dish in our house.

We make this twice a year but I use one stick butter melted, one can anchovies stirred in until it disolves, then add 8 garlic bulbs chopped . Stir until garlic is cooked (about 6 min) and then add a quart of heavy cream. Cook and stir until cream thickens and becomes like a fondue or dip. (About 45 min). It needs to bubble but stir so it does not burn. Heat should be low but cream needs to bubble. Sounds like it takes a long time but it is worth it! Serve as a dip for raw cabbage, peppers, cauliflower, celery and Italian bread.

My mother’s family had been making this since they were kids in Benld, Illinois. Our old Christmas tradition is to put a hot plate in the middle of a table to keep the bagna cauda (hot bath) hot and as all stand around the table, dip fresh napa cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, green pepper etc., and let it cool over held plate of Italian bread, then when bread soaked, eat bread. Always looked forward to.

I make this dish every holiday, but served this specific version for my latest New Year’s Feast, and it ended up being the main attraction. Opened with the dip, and when my guests finished the meal, we all stayed at the table just dipping foccacia. I was asked for the recipe, and typically I do not tell people about the anchovies until after they have tasted it, but it did not sway my friends as they all were pleased to know what that special something was 🙂

Bagna has been a Christmas tradition in our family for years. Most of us prefer to leave the cream out. We call the kind with cream, “Beginner Bagna” because it’s not as garlicy and strong. Some people have to work up to the full strength. Preferred dippers for us: french or italian bread and Napa cabbage. We also put tons of fresh mushrooms in. You either love it or you hate it; there’s no in-between.

This is a love it or hate it thing and I love it. My wife hated it until she got pregnant and has now loved it for the last 30 years. My family’s recipe used half as much cream and it’s a 50% half and half and 50% heavy cream mix but otherwise it’s the same recipe and I have tried using olive oil and gave up, it just isn’t the same unless it’s all butter. You can dip anything in it, most any vegetable, bread, cheese, fingers, I especially like the end of a loaf of hard bread. Just take and smush in the bread so you have a small bowl of the crust then scoop.

Like another reviewer, for a New Year’s Day feast, my Italian family has had the tradition of cooking bagna cauda for several decades. We, also, use olive oil instead of cream and simmer the mixture in a frying pan until all the ingredients are melded. One addition suggested by a newcomer to our celebration was to use pineapple as part of the “dipping” foods. We also use cheese as a quick dip and it is very good on crusty bread (which is the showpiece food in my family). For those that don’t like achovies, you will never know they are in the sauce. Felice Mangiare!!!

I grew up eating this and sadly my husband doesn’t like it and I LOVE it. We did not put cream in — just the butter, garlic and anchovies. We used celery cabbage and we dipped pickled peppers and mushrooms and swiss chard, also the crusty bread and let it drip on that. Makes my mouth water to think about it.

My dad grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where many nationalities settled in search of work in the mines. We’re Scandinavian but I think we consider our “family dishes” to be pasties (Welsh) and bagna cauda (Italian). People seem to be in two camps with bagna – love it or hate it. I make it and invite my mom and sister over while my husband has to leave the house. Don’t let that scare you – this is a delicious dish. Garlic lovers will love this!!

We make it with Anchovies and Tuna, butter EVOO, and massive amounts of garlic. Served with fresh baked italian bread. Man so good! Going to make some tonight. No milk or cream though, that would make it into a gravy.

I grew up eating this dish in Argentina. We add chopped walnuts!

I use Bagna Cauda as a base for my clam sauce. I use olive oil instead of cream and add white wine and fresh clams. It’s a family favorite!

My friends and I absolutely love this dish. We always have to make 3 different versions one regular, one without cream and one with tuna instead of anchovies. Tuna makes a great variation of this wonderful recipe. Also we saute the garlic and the anchovies/tuna for a bit before adding the other ingredients then blend till smooth after it cooks. The only time we refrigerate is the left overs.

Like many Americans, for much of my life I totally avoided ever even trying anchovies. Then while dining in an Italian restaurant one evening, the host ordered anchovies to add to his spaghetti dish. I was intrigued,and gave them a try. I was quite surprised to discover that I REALLY liked the fishy/salty taste of these little fishies. The reason I bring up the above is because of the extreme flavor that the anchovies bring to this dip. If you don’t like the strong flavor of anchovies, you probably won’t like this dish. The garlic is just an added attraction! I have never been to Italy, so my exposure to Italian food has been entirely of the American variety. I have tried several variations of Bagna that are heavy on olive oil, and I found them less enjoyable. This version that uses heavy cream was – to my taste – truly excellent. Thank you Julie P. for sharing!

Good Bagna Cauda! This is a slightly different recipe than the one passed down in my family. It was a nice twist, but I prefer my recipe overall. I use only butter, garlic, and anchovy paste. But this recipe still was good!

And I thought WE were the only ones who ate this! We have this every New Year’s – handed down through many generations of my family. We do it just a little different. We use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 real butter and saute’ the anchovies and garlic over low heat until they fall apart. We then put it in a fondue pot and add the cream about 6 oz. at a time. We fondue steamed cabbage wedges and raw mushrooms and catch the drips with the crusty Italian bread. When the bagna cauda starts to thicken, add some more cream and let warm up before dipping some more. When I was younger, we tried this out on our boyfriends. If they didn’t like it or wouldn’t try it, they weren’t keepers! Luckily, my husband and brother-in-law love it!

OMG!!! Someone actually makes this recipe the same way (well almost) my dad did when I was a little girl. I’m now 56 years old. Most Bagna Calda recipes don’t add the cream, but my dad always did. He actually added evaporated milk. This recipe is awesome – brings back some old memories !!!!!

I thought this was something only my dad made for my family on fondue night. When we do it, we use an electric skillet on med-low, start with two sticks of butter, some olive oil, approx. a whole garlic bulb, and the 2 cans of anchovies. Once we soak up most of the liquid, we add in another stick of butter if we want it. We also dip cabbage, veggies, meat, and bread in ours. I have never hear of/tried it with cream…bet it is good! I do not suggest mixing half cream and half olive oil. It’s probably good either way, but not combined. Just don’t burn the butter and cook it nice and slow until the anchovies dissolve…YUMMY!