What to Do with a Truffle
What will you be doing with your truffle?
This is a question I am asked every time I go to collect my black diamond. Whether it comes all the way from the Périgord region in France or from Manjimup in Western Australia, I like to keep the enjoyment of my prized possession very simple.
First, I steal a glance at the black tuber from the Périgord while it remains sealed in its package with a handful of rice. I take note of the weight. 3.6 grams of indulgence awaits.
I admire its beauty. I inhale its perfume.
With extra care, I pick it up between my fingers and feel its rough texture. I sense the corners of my mouth curl upwards at the thought of the culinary pleasures it holds.
Lovingly, I store it in an airtight glass jar with as many eggs as possible and patiently await the infusion.
After a day or two, once the aroma has permeated through the shells, it is time to put the truffle shaver to work.
Using eggs infused with the tuber, I like to cook them sunny side up and add liberal truffle shavings.
The next morning, after considering the possibility of an omelette or scrambled eggs, I cave in and repeat the above technique. The truffled taste of a slightly runny egg yolk wins every time.
For dinner, I boil fresh fettuccine in salted water and when it’s cooked to my liking, I add a dash of extra virgin olive oil, a little crushed garlic and generous shavings of the black truffle.
And I come full circle. Back to admiring its beauty on a plate, inhaling its earthy scent and anticipating the first taste.
See he Black Diamonds article for an in-depth article on truffles.
Fresh Périgord Truffles from Simon Johnson.
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Oh yum! I can almost taste it in my mouth…drooling…
Jen: If only we could sample what we see, no? :)
Mmmm. Yum. I have never had the guts to buy a fresh truffle but I adore my truffle paste and truffle oil. In fact, truffle oil may be my favorite indulgence of all time. There are fwe things better than fresh pasta with slivered truffles.
Akila: I’d definitely recommend it if you get the chance. Truffle oils have their place but somehow they seem synthetic compared to the real thing.
Yummy, I could certainly go for a delicious pasta. Truffle is so expensive, I can’t imagine what that cost you, but certainly worth it!
Dave and Deb: Prices vary each year, and as these are flown from France in season, they were about $3400 a kilo. Not an every day luxury, for sure.
Please don’t tell my family in Italy but the Black winter truffle from Perigord is superior to any other truffle in the world. There is a restaurant in Sydney called Buon Ricordo (which means ‘good memory’ in Italian) which takes the truffled egg to your table, ceremoniously prepares it and mixes it through the freshly made egg pasta, your photos remind me of this. One word to decsribe the taste, Sublime. Very rich with eggs, hard to at a lot of it at once
Other suggestions on what to do with a truffle:
1. Very nice with a Risotto
2. Slice it thinly and stuff organic grain fed chicken
3. The piece de resistance, create a black truffle sauce to cover your lightly seared foie gras
Need a section what ‘not’ to do with a truffle, I can list some ideas:
1. Eat it as a snack (that’ll be $100 per nugget thanks!)
2. Store it too long in the fridge (it dilutes the aroma)
3. Steam it, again it dilutes the taste
4. Leave any on your plate
Frank: I know too well about the black trufle vs white truffle debate so I’ll just diplomatically say, I enjoy both :)
That dish sounds divine! I wonder if they still serve it.
I like your suggestions, the only thing I have against cooking it with chicken is that every attempt I made diluted the aroma so I stopped trying. as for the truffle-fois gras combination, I had that at La Tour d’Argent, subject of a future article. It was the best foie gras ever!
[...] it comes to enjoying a truffle at home, simplicity wins every time. Brunch turns into a decadent affair when truffle infused eggs are [...]