As Decadent as a Truffle – Mushroom Truffle Spaghetti (My First Time Cooking with Fresh Truffles!)
Clearly, I am very excited (and also very intimidated) to cook with an entire fresh black truffle in my kitchen. This is, up to now, the most decadent ingredient I’ve used in my cooking, and I wanted to do this black beauty justice.
After much Googling and recipe book consultations, I’ve settled on a simple yet satisfying recipe for my first attempt. I know that the aroma of truffles is best enhanced when paired with egg, parmesan, or cream, so I decided to include all three elements in my dish.
This is a recipe that I dreamed up in my head, and I feel fully showcase the aromatic potential of this treasure of the earth. Sometimes, simplicity is the best way to display the purest essence of an ingredient.
What you’ll need (serves 2):
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbls of cream
- a handful of grated parmagiano (approx 1/2cup)
- 1 tsp grated black truffle
- 4 oz of spaghetti (or a handful)
- 8 mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 1 clove garlic, diced
- salt & pepper
I built this simple, yet undeniably delicious, recipe from the fundamentals of a great carbonara recipe.
First things first, a little shameless posing with my little friend. I was surprised by the texture of the truffle – rough, hard, unlike any fungi I’ve ever used.
Starting with the basics – slice mushrooms, dice garlic and parsley.
Combine shredded parmesan (I use 24 months aged parmagiano of supreme quality), with cream and eggs. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of salt and pepper (the cheese is already salty so no need to over-salt).
Saute the garlic, mushroom and parsley on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Make sure to use a large enough pan as you don’t want to overcrowd the mushrooms and make everything soggy. Add a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Turn off heat and let that just sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, boil some water and get your pasta cooking.
Now comes the fun part – cutting the truffle! I was pretty nervous doing my first incision, the striations within the truffle reminded me of little brains.
Dice the slices of truffles to maximize aroma.
Combine the diced / grated truffle with the creamy sauce.
And stir well.
Drain pasta and toss with mushroom sauce. Pour the cream / egg / truffle sauce over the pasta and mix, making sure to coat each strand with velvety truffle decadence.
The only thing to do now is inhale, and feast!
Bon Appetit!
