A French Dip by the Sea, with a Little Bit of Italy

Painting by N. Pino, spotted at an outdoor market at Cap Ferrat

We are hunters and seekers of new restaurants, but when it comes to  our vacation in Nice, we’ve got a Monday routine we never depart from.  Let me give you the mise-en-scène:  We’re at the famous Nice Marché des Puces, a weekly event which is an allée a quarter of a mile long, choc-a-block with irresistible flea market finds on tables under colorful parasols.  The buskers are out in force–a saxaphonist here, a gypsy swing band there, and one woman of a certain age who belts out  vintage French tunes, acapella. The market street is lined with cafés and restaurants, with their outdoor terraces and awnings in happy colors.  And the best people-watching spot of all is the Safari Restaurant, a haven of local specialties.   

We book a sunny table  early and settle in for the show.  Last week, part of the show was a stunning dish that arrived at the table of a Frenchman sitting alone at a nearby table, smoking his Gauloise and reading Le Monde—everything but the beret.  His order looked so interesting that we ended up gathered around his table, grilling him about it.  He politely answered our questions, though he kept looking longingly at his lunch.  After putting him through that I didn’t dare ask to take a picture, though I’m regretting it now. Photos, the Nice Monday market.

Bagna Couda (‘warm bath’ in Italian) is from Italy’s Piedmont region but has made its way over the border here, as so many dishes do.  It’s a collection of beautiful vegetables (particular  
veggies, by tradition), served with a luscious warm anchovy sauce.  Here is the legend of how it came to be:  back in the day, farmers in the hilly Piedmont went down to the Liguria region to barter, mainly for salt.  Salt was a prized commodity and heavily taxed.  They put the salt in wooden barrels and topped it with anchovies, to hide the salt from the tax collectors they might encounter on the road.  Fish was a rarity in the Piedmont, but vegetables were plentiful, so creative cooks invented this recipe to marry the two, thus recycling their fishy cover-up. 

I can’t get Ron within a mile of an anchovy, so I started thinking of variations.  I decided a hot spicy shrimp dip with garlic had a bit of the same spirit.   But there are endless possibilities here, and I’m sure some of you have some ideas for what to slather on those beautiful veggies.  I’ve posted an anchovy dip recipe, by a famous Italian chef.  My shrimp dip is below, too. I’m thinking a roasted cauliflower dip with roasted garlic would also be good …. now what about your ideas? 

RECIPE:  Bagna Couda, Two Ways    

Photo: at home I’d put the veggies in a pretty basket with high sides.  In a rental house, one makes do with whatever’s in the cabinet!  

For the vegetables: 

The traditional veggies are red peppers, zucchini, endive, cauliflower, and fennel.  But there are lots of other possibilities.  Asparagus and  radicchio would be nice additions, for example.  Serving them skinny and vertical, as the restaurant did, makes a pretty presentation. 

In Italy this is often a cool weather feast and  they might also use  celery, baked onions, turnips, or pumpkins, apples, Jerusalem artichokes, brussels sprouts, boiled potatoes, and hunchback thistle (!). 

For the anchovy sauce:  

This recipe is by Marcella Hazan.  It serves 4 to 6.  

1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 salt-cured anchovy filets, rinsed, boned,
   and finely chopped
Kosher salt

1. Heat oil and butter in a pot over medium-high heat until butter begins to foam. Add garlic; cook for 10 seconds.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add anchovies. Cook, stirring and mashing anchovies with a wooden spoon, until anchovies are broken into very small pieces and dip is cloudy, 3–4 minutes.

3. Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

Or, Lynn’s Hot Baked Shrimp Dip:

Shrimp paste, a pureéd spread, is a Charleston favorite, but lacking a food processor at this rental house, after one aborted attempt with the wrong tool I simply mashed it up with a fork, which  actually turned out  better for this recipe (cooking tip du jour:  do not try to make shrimp paste with an immersion blender). 

For two: 

• 1/2 pound  ( 226 gr) cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped fine
• 4 oz. (113 gr)  cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, pressed
• dash of tabasco
• 1/2 teaspoon woster sauce
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• grated parmesan cheese
• chopped chives
• baguette

Pre-heat oven to 375.  Mash all ingredients  together well.  Bake about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn broiler on.  Sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese and chives, and run under the broiler for just a minute or two until cheese starts to brown.  Serve hot with vegetables and a baguette.  Photo:  A chef riffs on Bagna Cauda at a Paris restaurant. 

Favorite Reads:  Marzella Hazen’s cookbook is the one I grab when I want an authentic Italian recipe.  Her bookMarcella's Italian Kitchen is a classic, but she’s written several. Her son has written a cookbook of quick recipes called Every Night Italian: 120 Simple, Delicious Recipes You Can Make in 45 Minutes or Less. Click on the links to order.

 But the best read of the week is at one of our reader's and frequent commenter's blog, Julie Farrar's Traveling Through…. Don't miss  her beautifully written post called "Rhetoric, Don't Leave Home  Without it".

NEW FEATURE:  'Ron's Corner':  Mostly inappropriate comments from THE HUSBAND.  This week:  "A glass full of vegetables?  What's for lunch?"

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2010 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved.