The generally unaffordable luxury may soon become cheaper. In the meanwhile, a recipe for how to make the most of one and another for sumptuous Truffle Crème Brûlée
Sacrilegious to say this but we had excellent truffles in Istria and much cheaper than those we had in The Dordogne. One meal of pasta the sliced truffles were sliced deep and high over the bowl of pasta. The Pacific Northwest in the US also produces a local truffle — usually quite small and lacking much flavor compared to those I’ve had in Italy, Istria and France. But my fondest truffle memorie is when we rent a farmhouse in Provençe and purchased a Jay of truffles from the owner, $100. From that jar we cooked 3 dishes — steamed potatoes with chopped truffles (so -so) an omelette after the eggs Sat over night with the truffle and then the truffle was sliced over the eggs (divine) and finally a cream sauce over pasta laced with truffles (the very best thing ever). Thanks for the memories!
I was in Lubljana last year and bought a truffle in a jar against my better judgement because the shop gave me a teeny taste of a sample and besides the place reeked of truffle. Back home I invited friends to eat truffle pasta. It tasted of nothing but the cream. Still, I did have a sumptuous dish of truffle tagliatelle up at Lake Bled, so I didn't entirely lose out.
Fascinating - I love history, particularly when presented in edible and easily-digestible form! I feel obliged to confess, I've never tried truffle, but it's certainly on my 'must try before you die' list - maybe on this year's trip to France? I love crème brulée, so I'll definitely be trying out this recipe!
I've encountered enough black truffles that smelled like garlic, but not nearly as good as garlic, that I don't seek them out. And a pox on "truffle oil" which overwhelms and ruins anything it touches. Jonathan and I both had a LOL moment at your description of fake meat sausages as resembling a dog's dinner a day later, and anything to laugh about is precious in these dark times. Thank you for that. I have to admit that I did on occasion buy the "Field Roast chorizo" fake sausages when my daughter went through a vegetarian phase during high school. She still craved the flavor of meat, but forced herself to abstain for idealogical purity's sake. I never ate it, but did taste it, and the heavy spicing was close enough to the original that the spongy texture was tolerable. She's since regained her sanity and is an omnivore, though she only eats ethically raised meat, as do I.
Truffle oil should be banned! How does it manage to be so dreadful? A generous person gave me a bottle for my birthday and I don't know what to do with it. Pouring it away seems sacrilegious but it even wrecked my baked potato. If I turned vegetarian I'm afraid I would have to make an exception for sausages. In fact, now you've mentioned them, I'm going to have to stop writing and go and cook one.
Happy hounds
And pigs - when permitted.
Yes to Appalachian truffles 🤩
👍
Sacrilegious to say this but we had excellent truffles in Istria and much cheaper than those we had in The Dordogne. One meal of pasta the sliced truffles were sliced deep and high over the bowl of pasta. The Pacific Northwest in the US also produces a local truffle — usually quite small and lacking much flavor compared to those I’ve had in Italy, Istria and France. But my fondest truffle memorie is when we rent a farmhouse in Provençe and purchased a Jay of truffles from the owner, $100. From that jar we cooked 3 dishes — steamed potatoes with chopped truffles (so -so) an omelette after the eggs Sat over night with the truffle and then the truffle was sliced over the eggs (divine) and finally a cream sauce over pasta laced with truffles (the very best thing ever). Thanks for the memories!
I was in Lubljana last year and bought a truffle in a jar against my better judgement because the shop gave me a teeny taste of a sample and besides the place reeked of truffle. Back home I invited friends to eat truffle pasta. It tasted of nothing but the cream. Still, I did have a sumptuous dish of truffle tagliatelle up at Lake Bled, so I didn't entirely lose out.
Fascinating - I love history, particularly when presented in edible and easily-digestible form! I feel obliged to confess, I've never tried truffle, but it's certainly on my 'must try before you die' list - maybe on this year's trip to France? I love crème brulée, so I'll definitely be trying out this recipe!
Creme brulee, with or without truffle, is my Last Meal On Earth pudding.
I've encountered enough black truffles that smelled like garlic, but not nearly as good as garlic, that I don't seek them out. And a pox on "truffle oil" which overwhelms and ruins anything it touches. Jonathan and I both had a LOL moment at your description of fake meat sausages as resembling a dog's dinner a day later, and anything to laugh about is precious in these dark times. Thank you for that. I have to admit that I did on occasion buy the "Field Roast chorizo" fake sausages when my daughter went through a vegetarian phase during high school. She still craved the flavor of meat, but forced herself to abstain for idealogical purity's sake. I never ate it, but did taste it, and the heavy spicing was close enough to the original that the spongy texture was tolerable. She's since regained her sanity and is an omnivore, though she only eats ethically raised meat, as do I.
Truffle oil should be banned! How does it manage to be so dreadful? A generous person gave me a bottle for my birthday and I don't know what to do with it. Pouring it away seems sacrilegious but it even wrecked my baked potato. If I turned vegetarian I'm afraid I would have to make an exception for sausages. In fact, now you've mentioned them, I'm going to have to stop writing and go and cook one.