What to do with black truffles?

My hubby gave me truffles for my birthday....three ounces (4 ping-pong ball-sized) Umbrian winter black truffles. I just got home from Northwestern Cutlery with a new truffle shaver.

Aside from risotto and truffled mashed potatoes, I'm at a loss for ideas. Suggestions, anyone?

eggs, pasta, pizza, take the leftover bits and chop them into some butter and use it on everything..

when you eat something, shave a bit of truffle on it and see if it tastes better. it usually does.

gleam wrote:eggs, pasta, pizza, take the leftover bits and chop them into some butter and use it on everything..

when you eat something, shave a bit of truffle on it and see if it tastes better. it usually does.

ditto. no need to search out a fancy recipe. just eat what you normally eat, and shave truffles on it. You can never go wrong with scrambled eggs, which are a match made in heaven with truffles. I'd avoid using them with stuff that has tomato sauce.

Shave some and place them under the skin of a chicken with some good butter
and roast....

Make a pan sauce and reintroduce some truffles just before plating.

Open a nice burgundy & enjoy

here's a summer truffle

THE Michel Rostang black truffle sandwich. http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/reci ... -sandwich/

Awe. Some.

And this comes from someone who has gone through KILOS of black truffles every WEEK. A chef friend of mine was once in charge of THE sandwich Chez Rostang. Made it for us with a few black truffles that had, uh, gone astray. Amazing.

THE Michel Rostang black truffle sandwich. http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/reci ... -sandwich/

Awe. Some.

And this comes from someone who has gone through KILOS of black truffles every WEEK. A chef friend of mine was once in charge of THE sandwich Chez Rostang. Made it for us with a few black truffles that had, uh, gone astray. Amazing.

The sandwich sounds like a life experience in itself. But I have to ask, how much were they selling it for?

Just reading the recipe for that sandwich almost made me faint.

A simple potato gratin with some truffles added is divine. Start with something like this and layer thin slices of truffles in with the potato slices. It makes a great accompaniment to a roast beef...or just about anything else.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... tin-109507

For a second there, when I looked at the picture, I thought that was a truffle jibarito!

i gennreally use black truffles in goose liver pates, in sauces, omelettes, scrambled eggs, compound butters, and baked in puff pastry. if any body is looking a specific recipe you can send me a PM

Louisa Chu wrote:A chef friend of mine was once in charge of THE sandwich Chez Rostang. Made it for us with a few black truffles that had, uh, gone astray. Amazing.

Speaking of stray truffles, Jazzfood put together a Truffle Sandwich that knocked the proverbial socks off a small group of appreciative friends.

Truffle sandwich





Jazzfood, professional chef that he is, went the whole route making a terrific roast vegetable pilaf with basmati in which the truffles were stored and salad with vinaigrette with truffle shavings.





Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv: that sandwich is wild.

Where does one purchase black truffles in Chicago if they are not close friends with industry folk? And at what cost?

SouthSiderMike wrote:Where does one purchase black truffles in Chicago if they are not close friends with industry folk? And at what cost?

Truffle pictured was a golf ball size black winter truffle from Perigord, no idea what it cost nor did I ask.

Locally you can purchase truffles from either Fox and Obel or Chicago Game with a couple days notice. Price varies on type and season.

Fox and Obel
401 E. Illinois Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-410-7301

Chicago Game
350 N Ogden Ave
Chicago, IL
312-455-1800

the truffles and many more goodies coveted by lthr's can be found @ www.gourmetfoodstore.com

the two truffles (a gift from an eccentric friend) w/overnite shipping came to just under $400. i used one for that lunch and one for my xmas dinner (w/that friend).

Out of sheer curiosity today (I have never eaten truffles before), I bought a small jar of preserved Italian black truffles from Fox & Obel. I was at the deli counter ordering my usual lunch of Greek gigantes beans, roast chicken, and grilled vegetables. I noticed them next to the counter and was very intrigued. A bit steep at about $30, but very cheap compared to the real (fresh) thing. I thought, hey it's my birthday this week, let's blow 30 bucks on something for the hell of it.

As soon as I left the store I opened the jar to take a whiff and was greeted by a mild, earthy aroma with some rather powerful top-notes. Now, I have used "truffle" oil before, and while there was a hint of the same aroma in the jar I bought (the top note mostly), it was a totally different animal. "Truffle" oil always struck me as overpowering and rather artificial, even if I don't know what fresh truffles are supposed to smell like.

So I got home and opened the jar again. I sliced off a bit of truffle and popped it in my mouth - it tasted exactly like mushroom. Nothing special. Hmmph, I thought. What a rip for 30 bucks.

Disappointed, I did a bit of research online. Apparently preserved truffles should be patted dry and then sauteed in butter or oil to release their flavour. I immediately pulled out a pan, threw some olive oil in it, some garlic, fresh ground black pepper, and finally half a preserved truffle chopped. I let the garlic brown gently before adding the truffle the let the whole thing go for about 5 minutes on a low flame. I poured the sauce over some rigatoni I had prepared and threw a bit of bread crumbs and a handful of parmigiano in to thicken (and flavor) things up.

The result? One of the nicest, simplest, 10 minutes pastas I have ever had. The truffles definitely blossomed into something different. Far from the abrasive, gasoline-like pungency that truffle oil imparts, these babies added an earthiness unlike any I've ever tasted to the pasta. Along with the garlic and parmigiano, this made a fine meal. I can't wait to do it again.

Was it worth $30 bucks? Sure, why not. I still have two and a half truffles left, and the pasta tasted damn good. I'll do it again. Can't wait to try the real thing now.

I've been very curious about those bottles myself - now I'm very tempted.

I've been eyeing the Alinea "Hot Potato..." dish - a slice of black truffle on a piece of hot potato that, along with a tiny cube of butter and parmesan, get dropped into a cold potato soup (or is it the other way around?) Looks really yummy, but I'm not really in the market to buy a whole, fresh truffle.

I also remembered that Green Zebra had a really nice truffle dish a couple of years ago. If I'm remembering right, it was sauteed baby carrots (heirloom, of course) and a small savory carrot cake with truffle oil and some tiny bits of black truffle - but not too much to overwhelm the flavors of the carrots.

For folks who have worked with real, fresh truffles: do the slices need to be really fresh, or will they keep for a few hours after they are sliced? I know that some restaurants bring the shaver out to the table to top dishes, but I assumed that was just to show off that you are dropping $$$ on the luxury item - or is it critical for the flavor?

Also, has anyone used truffle salt? I sniffed some at The Spice House and I like the scent, but I wonder if it comes through in finished dishes?

TomD.arch wrote:Also, has anyone used truffle salt? I sniffed some at The Spice House and I like the scent, but I wonder if it comes through in finished dishes?

If you're talking about the white truffle salt at the spice house, as long as you put it at the last minute, the aroma definitely comes through. We love it.

gleam wrote:

TomD.arch wrote:Also, has anyone used truffle salt? I sniffed some at The Spice House and I like the scent, but I wonder if it comes through in finished dishes?

If you're talking about the white truffle salt at the spice house, as long as you put it at the last minute, the aroma definitely comes through. We love it.

Second that . . . I love -- love -- that Spice House white truffle salt on popcorn.

TomD.arch wrote:For folks who have worked with real, fresh truffles: do the slices need to be really fresh, or will they keep for a few hours after they are sliced? I know that some restaurants bring the shaver out to the table to top dishes, but I assumed that was just to show off that you are dropping $$$ on the luxury item - or is it critical for the flavor?

If you're using fresh truffles fresh it's best to slice them right before eating them. It's important to the aroma as well as the texture. They should be firm but still have spring too. If you slice them in advance you will lose that moment when the aroma's released and they'll dry out too. Between slicing store your truffles in a barely damp cloth.

Habibi wrote:As soon as I left the store I opened the jar to take a whiff and was greeted by a mild, earthy aroma with some rather powerful top-notes. Now, I have used "truffle" oil before, and while there was a hint of the same aroma in the jar I bought (the top note mostly), it was a totally different animal. "Truffle" oil always struck me as overpowering and rather artificial, even if I don't know what fresh truffles are supposed to smell like.

You've inspired me to find this stuff and try it out sometime. The prices Jazzfood quotes (as well as having similarly awful experiences with truffle oil, just as you describe) are what has kept me away from truffles entirely...I'm afraid I will like them. At $30 a jar, I might just try the preserved ones for a special occasion!

This is what we did with our kilo of black summer truffles:

Store them with farm fresh eggs.







Sliced truffles:


To garnish truffled risotto:


Truffled risotto topped with truffled fried egg:




Forgot to take pics of them shaved over foie gras terrines, in omelets, on sautéed steaks…

Petite,

How did they taste?

mhill95149 wrote:Petite,

How did they taste?

These were summer truffles, so not as rich and earthy as I would have liked and familiar with. These have a lighter fresher taste with a decided crunch to them.

I liked them best when imbued into the rich orange egg yolks. Nothing like waking up and running over to boulangerie next door for freshly baked baguette to dip into the rich runny yolk.

Pretty tasty though. The richness lingered on the buds the rest of the day...Mmmmmm

petite_gourmande wrote:I liked them best when imbued into the rich orange egg yolks. Nothing like waking up and running over to boulangerie next door for freshly baked baguette to dip into the rich runny yolk.

Discription along with pictures of the amazing looking egg are actually making me feel slightly faint. Summer truffle or not, Wow!

G Wiv wrote:

petite_gourmande wrote:I liked them best when imbued into the rich orange egg yolks. Nothing like waking up and running over to boulangerie next door for freshly baked baguette to dip into the rich runny yolk.

Discription along with pictures of the amazing looking egg are actually making me feel slightly faint. Summer truffle or not, Wow!

Yeah, I checked on them every morning, just to fawn over them and breathe in the aroma. Sigh of contentment before putting them back. Then the routine starts all over again when we get back from sightseeing in the evening before aperitifs. What a lovely existence.