Best Radicchio Bagna Cauda Recipes

BAGNA CALDA (ITALIAN GARLIC-ANCHOVY-SARDINE APPETIZER)

Steps:

• Place the canola oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, anchovies, and sardines. Cook and stir until well blended, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

RADICCHIO WITH WALNUT ANCHOVY SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse anchovies briefly and chop. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a small skillet and add anchovies and garlic. Stir until garlic is fragrant and just beginning to color and anchovies have broken down into smaller bits. Transfer to a mortar and pestle. Use pestle to grind mixture into a paste. Add lemon juice or vinegar to the still-hot pan and stir to deglaze bottom of pan, then transfer to mortar and pestle. Add mustard. Work together, then slowly add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and walnut oil, one tablespoon at a time, working each tablespoon into anchovy mixture before adding next. Work in walnuts and mash with the pestle until the sauce is thick. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper (the anchovies should provide enough salt).
• Heat a heavy cast iron pan over medium heat or prepare a medium-hot grill. Cut radicchio into wedges - about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick at the widest point. Place in a bowl and toss with remaining olive oil. It should be lightly coated all over. Season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning often, until lightly colored, charred in places and soft, about 8 to 10 minutes (do this in batches if using a pan).
• Arrange radicchio on plates or on a platter. Either drizzle the sauce over the radicchio or serve it in ramekins with each serving. Serve radicchio hot or at room temperature.

BAGNA CAUDA

Steps:

• Arrange pepper, fennel, radishes and radicchio on a platter. In a small pan, heat butter, oil and garlic over very low heat. Stir gently so that butter melts and combines with oil. Make sure the mixture does not boil or get too hot; garlic should stay white.
• Remove from heat, and add anchovies. Break up fillets with a wooden spoon, stirring gently, until they have fully integrated into sauce. Serve hot sauce in 6 warm bowls with platter of vegetables.