Trento-Style Buckwheat and Cornmeal Polenta with Melted Butter and Anchovies

Hot melted butter saturated with anchovies that have been reduced to a pulp can rouse the taste buds as powerfully as any fusion of flavors I know. In this specialty of the Trentino region, polenta taragna—buckwheat and cornmeal polenta—is the softly sprung vehicle that gives that explosively tasty cargo a very smooth ride.

You can serve it as an appetizer preceding a meal that would include earthy dishes such as a stout bean soup followed by a garlicky roast or stew. Or serv