Anchovies in Piedmont
You could marvel why a dish usually related to landlocked Piedmont would come with a sea faring fish. There are a large number of theories about why the anchovies turned so vital to Piedmontese delicacies, however essentially the most outstanding has to do with the salt that fish are usually preserved in. Salt was once a extremely wanted commodity which was taxed closely alongside commerce routes. To keep away from paying taxes, sure retailers would put a number of layers of salted anchovies on high of their salt provide in order that when the tax inspectors opened the barrel, they might solely see the anchovies which weren’t topic to the identical taxes as salt. This illicit exercise is what initially introduced salted anchovies to Piedmont, and over time, individuals developed a style for them and started incorporating them into sauces and braises. Eventually this result in a respectable marketplace for anchovies. In order to herald further cash, poor farmers would go to the Ligurian coast after their harvest and cargo up their carts with salted anchovies. They’d carry the carts from village to village through the winter months, assembly the demand that the area had developed for the fish.
How to Eat Bagna Càuda
Bagna càuda is a fantastically social dish – it’s principally the fondue of northern Italy. The dip is served with greens – historically a relative of the artichoke referred to as a cardoon, however any crunchy veggies will do – that are dipped into the bagna càuda. You primarily use bread as an edible plate whereas having fun with the dip, permitting any drips out of your veggies to fall down onto items of a rustic loaf. Once the bread is considerably saturated, you eat the bread after which repeat the method. There are few meals higher fitted to a celebration! Served with a glass of from our wine harvest in Piedmont, it’s immersively scrumptious. As a bonus, you don’t must cope with any plates or silverware when serving bagna càuda (yay for fewer dishes). Just be sure you have some napkins available and also you’ll be all set.