Bagna cauda is the Piedmont winter dip of garlic, anchovies, olive oil and butter, eaten warm with raw cardoons, peppers and bread. The dish was UNESCO-nominated.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Bagna cauda dates to 16th-century Piedmont as food of the poor, despised by the rich for its garlic. Anchovies travelled the salt roads from Liguria; garlic was farmhouse staple. The Asti Delegation of the Italian Academy of Cuisine notarised the canonical recipe in Costigliole d'Asti in 2005. The last weekend of November is Bagna Cauda Day across Piedmont.
Common allergens: Fish
Tip from the editors. The classic version skips butter and uses only garlic, anchovies and oil; modern Piedmont households cut with milk first to soften the garlic.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Trattoria Valenza on Borgo Dora next to Porta Palazzo is a trattoria visitors walk past on the way to the market; full Piedmontese carte, live music nights.
Why locals love it: A Borgo Dora trattoria right next to Porta Palazzo that visitors walk past on the way to the market.
Tip: Thursday and Saturday have live music; book those nights ahead, lunch is walk-in on the corner outside Porta Palazzo.
Tre Galline in Turin's Quadrilatero has run an inn on this street since the mid-XVI century. Bollito misto trolley, battuta of Fassona, vitello tonnato.
Consorzio in Turin's Quadrilatero Romano is a slow-food trattoria with a fine-dining wine list. Agnolotti del plin, finanziera ravioli, deep cellar.
Le Vitel Etonne in Turin's Centro builds the carte around vitello tonnato in many guises, plus a Piedmontese tasting from the Susigan kitchen.
Signature: Vitello tonnato (multiple cuts), Agnolotti del plin, Tajarin
More cities are in research. Want bagna cauda covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.