I am so excited to be sharing some of what's in my cookbook and new recipes once a week staring now! My passion for cooking is getting stronger and am in the millionth creative phase of my cooking right now. It makes me feel alive and happy to be in these seasons of my career. The recipe I will tease you with is one of my summer favorites. I will never forget the first time I tasted a the thinly sliced shaving of a truffle. It was as amazing to me as my first bite of caviar. And when it's on top of pasta, it creates a whole new dimension to the dish. Don't use marinara or other strong sauces or you will cover up the delicate, earthy and subtle tastes of the truffles.
You can buy them and specialty stores in your area or order online. I get mine at Dartagnon.com. They are reputable and usually available year round. These fragrant dry mushrooms taste best fresh, so plan to enjoy white and black truffles from September to December, winter black truffles from December to early March, bianchetti truffles in February and March, and summer black and white truffles from May to August. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Truffle Lovers Rosemary Truffle Capellini- with spinach, Parmesan, truffle salt, white truffle oil, and shaved black winter truffles
Truffles are special. White truffles from Alba, Italy, are exceptional. Once I was invited to a truffle flight dinner at Granita restaurant in Malibu, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in the 90’s. I had fresh angel hair pasta tossed in butter and topped with lots of shaved white truffles. The truffle weighed 1 pound, worth nearly $5,000.00
Serves 4 main course dishes
Truffle Shaver- you can find on Amazon
Ingredients-
½ - ¾ box DeCecco angel hair pasta, cooked to package directions
1 (10 oz.) bag baby spinach
4 oz. Rosemary Truffle Butter (recipe in the butter section)
4 large black truffles, winter ones are best, or if you can't find them get Alba white truffles
2 tsp white truffle oil
Truffle salt and black pepper, to taste (truffle salt is saltier so be careful when adding)
4 Tbsp grated highest quality Reggiano Parmesan cheese
Directions-
Cook the pasta, drain, and set aside tossed in a little oil to prevent sticking. In a sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon Rosemary Truffle Butter on medium heat. Wilt the spinach slightly for 30 seconds.
Place a ¼ of the spinach on the bottom of 4 salad plates or bowls. Melt the other 3 tablespoons of Rosemary Truffle Butter in the same pan on medium heat, tossing in the pasta. Drizzle with the white truffle oil, truffle salt and black pepper to taste. Truffle salt is saltier than most salts, so be carefully when seasoning.
To serve, place a ½ cup of the cooked pasta on top of the spinach on each of the plates in a nest. You can always add more. If not, save the rest for leftovers. Sprinkle a tablespoon of the Parmesan on top of each pasta. Shave the truffles with a truffle shaver, directly on top of the pasta, using half a truffle per dish. Eat!
Oh, how I love black and white truffles.