Tartufi - Gomoljike - Truffles

The aphrodisiac properties of truffles were already well known in Roman times. In his famous treatise on cooking, “De re Coquinaria”, Apicius exalts the wondrous effects of the mushroom, and indicates six different ways of using it. With the fall of the empire its magic properties were forgotten and it was only in the 1700 century that the French started to vaunt the miraculous qualities of truffles. The famous gastronome Brillat Savarin (1755-1826) dedicates six whole pages of his “Physiologie du goût” to its erotic properties.

Truffles come in two main families, white and black. The black ones are found in many places with the really famous ones from Perigord in France and from Norcia in Italy. However the king of truffles is the white one. It is found mainly in Piedmont (Italy) - and Istria - and the best known and prized are from the hills around town of Alba.

The fundamental difference however is not in the colour but in the smell, that obviously influences the taste. The black truffle has a pleasant autumnal leafy smell and is usually used cooked. The white one instead has a strong pungent nose with a thousand shades and is used raw, grated very finely on cooked or raw foods. Since it is so rare and costly, one has to choose it well. It must be pale beige, the paler the better. It must be very firm so eliminate any that are even slightly soft to touch.

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Recipes:

Eggs with white truffle - Uova al piatto con tartufo

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • butter
  • salt
  • white truffle

First clean the truffle, by brushing it to remove all the earth. Fry [see below] the eggs in the oven as described in the Culinary academy and when they are ready serve them with a grating of truffle.

If you should have some leftover it can be preserved by placing it in a glass jar full of rice and closed hermetically. You can then grate a little on an excellent saffron risotto finishing your truffle but enhancing your love story.

Fried eggs — Uova al piatto o al tegamin

This has always been considered the real testing ground for good cooks. Put a knob of butter in a small oven dish. Break two eggs into a plate and slide them into the dish, salt the whites and put a little melted butter on the yolks to keep them soft.

Bake high in the oven at 180° C - 350° F - 4G so that the eggs get more heat on the top: as soon as they coagulate remove from heat and serve.

Alternatively you can fry them in a pan, where you have melted a knob of butter, at fairly high temperature.

Remember the butter on top of the yolks to keep them from crusting.

Cook a couple of minutes.

Source:

  • Mangiare bene - http://www.mangiarebene.net/aphrodisiacs/egg_truffle.html (also above introduction) and http://www.mangiarebene.net/ACADEMY/EGGS/fried.html

Fritada coi tartufi # 1

Ingredienti:

  • 8 uova
  • 150 g di tartufi
  • 1 dl d'olio
  • 15 g di prezzemolo
  • 1 g di pepe
  • 5 g di sale

Versare nell'olio bollente le uova sbattute, il tartufo tagliato a fette sottili e condire il tutto con sale e pepe. Quando le uova saranno cotte, cospargere con il prezzemolo tritato e servire.

Frittata con i tartufi # 2

Ingredienti:

  • due uova a testa
  • olio
  • tartufo

Sbattete le uova in un piatto con il sale. Aggiungete il tartufo affettato e salato. Riscaldate l'olio in una padella, cuocete le uova e aggiungete alla fine un pizzico di pepe. Servite caldo.

Filetto al tartufo

Ingredienti per 4 persone:

  • 4 belle fettine di filetto
  • pane affettato
  • burro
  • tartufo
  • limone
  • sale

Passate le fette di filetto sul fuoco vivo e cuocetele per il tempo desiderato. Nel frattempo, friggete nel burro le fette di pane. Sistemate ciascuna fettina di filetto su una fetta di pane, aggiungete un goccio di limone, il sale, il tartufo affettato e bagnate il tutto con il fondo di cottura.

Crostini al tartufo

Ingredienti:

  • una fetta di pane a testa
  • burro
  • tartufo

Fate abbrustolire le fette di pane. Ancora calde spalmatele con il burro e cospargeteci sopra il tartufo a fettine. Servitele ben calde con del buon vino rosso.

Tagliatelle al tartufo

Ingredienti:

Per le tagliatene:

  • 2 uova
  • 250 gr di farina
  • sale
  • Tartufo e burro

Preparate delle tagliatene tirando una sfoglia non troppo sottile. Cuocetele in abbondante acqua salata. Fate fondere il burro, aggiungete il tartufo grattugiato e la pasta che girerete più volte affinchè il condimento si distribuisca in modo uniforme. Finite con il tartufo grattugiato. Allo stesso modo vanno preparati anche gnocchi e fusi.

Formaggio al tartufo

Ingredienti:

  • formaggio latteria
  • burro
  • tartufo

Friggete il formaggio nel burro finché si sarà sciolto; ponetelo su un piatto di portata e cospargetelo di tartufo a fettine. Servitelo caldo.

Sources:
  • Text (English) - Mangiare bene - http://www.mangiarebene.net/aphrodisiacs/egg_truffle.html

  • Rosanna T. Giuricin,  Stefano De Franceschi, Mangiamoci l'Istria, MGS Press (Trieste, 2001), p. 157-8.
  • Cucina Istriana, a cura di Franko Lukež e Branko Lovrić, PETKO (Pula, 1994.

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Created: Thursday, November 30, 2006; Last updated: Sunday, May 08, 2022
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