This simple starter always brings me back to Provence, where I trained as a young chef. There, we served this sea-salty dip with scallions and red bell peppers, but now fennel is my favorite. This dip is so good, it works with any combination of vegetables; pick from my suggestions below. And if you think you don’t like anchovies, you have to try this. The milk mellows the intensity of the fish and the garlic and makes the dip incredibly creamy.

　　

Ingredients

serves 8 to 12

　　

ANCHOVY DIP

1 garlic clove, peeled

　　4 salted anchovy fillets packed in oil, rinsed and patted dry

　　1/3 cup whole milk

　　1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

　　1 teaspoon kosher salt

　　3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　

CRUDITÉS

Red or yellow Belgian endive, quartered lengthwise

　　Celery, tough strings removed, cut into sticks

　　Fennel bulbs, cut into wedges

　　Small, thin carrots, peeled

　　Breakfast and globe radishes

　　Sugar snap peas, halved lengthwise

　　Summer squash, cut into spears

　　Red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, cut into sticks

　　

Step 1

Put the garlic in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then drain. Repeat once, then put in a bowl of cold water. When cool, drain again.

　　

Step 2

Puree the garlic in a blender with the anchovies, milk, vinegar, and salt until smooth. With the machine running, add the oil in a steady stream. Continue blending until smooth and creamy.

　　

Step 3

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with crudités.

　　

c’est bon

Step 4

When serving raw bell peppers, I like to use a vegetable peeler to remove the paper-thin skin. You can get rid of their slight bitterness that way.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.