Recipe for Anchovy Lemon Dip With Vegetables

Anchovy Lemon Dip With Vegetables

Ingredients

.....1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
.....A 2 ounce can flat anchovy fillets, drained
.....2 garlic cloves, minced
.....1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
.....1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
.....1/2 pound wax beans, trimmed
.....1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and strings discarded
.....Thin lemon slices for garnish

Preparation

In a very small saucepan combine 2 tablespoons of the sour cream, the anchovies, the garlic, and 2 tablespoons water, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking, and cook it at a bare simmer, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes. Force the mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl, pressing hard on the solids, whisk in the remaining 1 cup sour cream, the lemon juice, and pepper to taste, and chill the dip, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.

In a large kettle of boiling water blanch the green and wax beans for 45 seconds, add the snow peas, and blanch the vegetables for 10 seconds more. Drain the vegetables and plunge them into a bowl of ice and cold water. The vegetables may be blanched 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Line a small glass bowl with the lemon slices, fill it to within about 1 inch of the rim with the dip so that the lemon slices show, and arrange the vegetables on a platter around the dip.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups