Once in awhile I like to indulge in a really nice dinner. I invite a few friends and family over and cook something simple with restaurant-quality to show them how much I appreciate them.
The last dinner I hosted was two weeks before the quarantine. I cooked a very simple pasta elevated with fresh shaved Truffles and a Caprese salad.
I love truffles, they taste similar to some varieties of mushrooms but are much more pungent, rich and earthy. They’re typically grated over dishes, like a finishing garnish, but with much more flavor. Truffles are categorized by their color, their growing season, and where they’re grown. There are four main varieties: summer black, winter black, white, and Burgundy. They are very expensive and hard to find here in Puerto Rico. But in many states, you can get them at local markets depending on the season.
For this dinner I was lucky enough to have a friend traveling from NYC. I had the black summer truffle hand-delivered from Eataly NYC. Of course, my friend had a lot of instructions to follow regarding the handling of the truffle! You can travel with it, but it needs to be kept in a dark container and tightly seal. Once I received the truffle, I transfer it into a rice-filled container, making sure it had no air and kept it on the fridge until I was ready to use it. I wouldn’t recommend keeping it more than two to three days, it will go bad really quick.
For this pasta, I had homemade fettuccini from a local provider, Massa. To enhance the truffle flavor, I made a cream and truffle butter sauce. And finished it with some parmesan cheese, before shaving the fresh truffle on top.
Ingredients:
12 ounces long grain pasta
1 ½ cup heavy cream
3 ounces truffle butter
½ cup freshly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 truffle
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
In a large pot, boil the pasta in heavily salted water according to instructions.
While the pasta is boiling, in a large saucepan, heat the cream with the butter over medium-low heat for 10 minutes whisking constantly.
Once the pasta is cooked, transfer it to the cream and toss with salt, pepper, and cheese.
Serve immediately, sprinkle more cheese and shave the truffle on top.
Tips:
- I recommend using fresh pasta, you can use this recipe: https://www.bitesofperfection.com/post/freshpasta
- If you can’t find a truffle not to worry, make it without it. It will still be delicious.
- Depending on the season, you can have truffles shipped from certain places like Eataly NYC.
- I use Regalis White Truffle Butter, it’s my favorite.
