Bagna Càuda alla Piemontese

Ingredients

• 12 garlic cloves (about 3 small heads)
• 300 ml whole milk
• 200 g salted anchovies, or 100 g anchovy fillets in oil
• 350 ml mild extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 400 g waxy potatoes
• 2 red peppers, cut into thick strips
• 4 celery sticks, cut into batons
• 6 spring onions, trimmed
• 1 small savoy cabbage, leaves separated
• crusty bread, to serve

Before you cook

• Peel the garlic cloves, split each one lengthways and flick out the green germ from the centre.
• Rinse the salted anchovies under cold running water, then open them out and pull away the backbone and tail.
• Pat the anchovy fillets dry with kitchen paper and chop them roughly.
• Cut the peppers, celery and cabbage leaves into pieces small enough to hold in one hand.

Steps

1. Boil the potatoes in a pan of salted water for 20 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
2. Drain the potatoes, cut them into thick wedges and leave them to cool.
3. Put the garlic in a small heavy pan and pour over the milk.
4. Set the pan over the lowest heat and simmer the garlic for 40 minutes, until a clove crushes easily against the side of the pan.
5. Drain off the milk and discard it, keeping the softened garlic in the pan.
6. Mash the garlic to a smooth paste with a fork.
7. Add the chopped anchovies and the olive oil to the garlic paste.
8. Cook over the gentlest possible heat for 30 minutes, stirring often, until the anchovies have dissolved and the sauce is an even pale bronze — never let it bubble or fry.
9. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter until it melts and the sauce turns glossy.
10. Pour the sauce into a warmed earthenware pot or a small fondue burner.
11. Set the pot in the middle of the table with the potatoes, raw vegetables and bread around it, and let everyone dip.