The truffle trail in Italy
As shoppers enjoy the pursuit of a special purchase at Fidenza Village this autumn, wandering amidst stylish shops, a very different kind of hunt is being played out in the beautiful hill country of Piedmont just a hundred kilometres or so away.
Deep in these hills and woods truffle hunters are out, taking secret routes and well trained dogs with them to search out the prized white truffles that the region is famous for. Throughout the truffle season, which starts at the end of September and carries on through to December, the weekly market in Alba is thronged with gourmets in designer gear in search of the mouldy stuff so pricy that it’s now known as white gold. A dish of tajarin – the local pasta dressed with butter and truffles – can cost a hundred dollars for a plate, and the freshly unearthed gnarly treasure retails at upwards of $1,000 per pound.
It seems extraordinary that a fungus scraped out of the soil and smelling slightly of sweat fetches thousands of dollars. Yet anyone who has ever had the pleasure of sitting at a table as the glass cover is lifted off a dish of fresh white truffle will understand why they are so prized. That infamous smell is astonishing, earthy and incredibly sexy. And if the scent is something else, the taste is sublime. It’s intense yet delicate, suffusing lucky diners with a sense of heightened wellbeing, a special experience which is becoming more special all the time, because there is real concern that white truffles are becoming ever more scarce, due to changing climate conditions. It’s impossible to recreate them convincingly and successfully in a synthetic fashion, so as with all goods, it’s worth saving up for the real thing.
And if you’re lucky enough to find some in the serene surroundings of Piedmont or through a specialist supplier, or in a restaurant, the secret of serving them is simplicity. A flavour so refined, so rare, needs showcasing, not submerging. So pare them over pasta with butter, or over a simple white risotto, as they do in Italy. In between, store them with eggs, so that the aroma permeates the shells, and the most basic dish of scrambled or fried eggs is infused with the flavour, and then shave a few slivers on top, breathe in, tuck in.
If Piedmont is a skip too far, then black truffles provide a good fix of earthiness too, and can be enjoyed at Barlumeria and Obikà, two of the restaurants at Fidenza Village. And if Italy is a skip too far, then try Carluccio’s, which has a branch at Bicester Village, and stocks authentic white truffle oil.Truffle-flavoured condiments can be found quite easily in many shops but are often made using essence of manufactured truffle. So it’s worth searching out the genuine article from Italian food specialists if you’re not buying them directly from source in Piedmont, surrounded by air made heady with the whiff of a fungus worth swooning over.
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16-09-2011
