cociana
The Truffle Table

One ingredient, six ways, six weeks a year

The Truffle Table

White: late October to December. Black: December to March · €150 to €400 per guest

White truffle from late October to December, black from December to March. A menu built so the truffle lands on warm, fatty, quiet food and nothing competes with it.

The menu

Course by course

  1. 01

    Warm egg, truffle

    A slow cooked egg, butter, a little parmesan, shaved at the table.

  2. 02

    Tajarin or tagliolini

    Thin egg pasta, butter and nothing else under the truffle.

  3. 03

    Risotto or potato

    Something starchy and warm that carries the aroma without acid.

  4. 04

    Veal, chicken or brill

    A quiet main with a butter sauce, truffle over the top.

  5. 05

    Cheese and truffle honey

    A washed rind cheese, warm bread, truffle honey rather than more truffle.

  6. 06

    Hazelnut dessert

    No truffle. Let the room come back down.

Preparation

What happens when

  1. Two days aheadOrder the truffle by weight and origin, confirm the delivery day.
  2. The day beforePasta dough made, stock reduced, cheese brought to room temperature in a cool place.
  3. The dayTruffle brushed, never washed, kept in rice paper in a cool box, weighed and shaved at the table only.

Service

How to serve it

Shave at the table, over the plate, in front of each guest. Warm plates, warm food, a shaver that is sharp, and a set weight per guest so the last guest gets the same as the first: 5 to 8 g of white truffle a head is generous, 10 to 15 g of black.

At home

Tagliolini with butter and truffle for six

The one dish worth buying truffle for. It takes twelve minutes and everything depends on the pasta and the butter.

  1. Pasta: 400 g 00 flour with 4 whole eggs and 6 yolks, kneaded ten minutes, rested an hour, rolled thin and cut into tagliolini.
  2. Warm 120 g of the best butter in a wide pan with three tablespoons of pasta water until it emulsifies. No garlic, no herbs, no pepper.
  3. Cook the pasta ninety seconds, drain, toss in the butter with 40 g grated parmesan.
  4. Plate onto warm plates, shave 5 to 8 g truffle per person at the table, serve immediately.

Editor’s tip: Buy less truffle of better quality. A small quantity of a fragrant tuber beats twice as much of a tired one, and the difference is audible in the room.

Plan it

Quantities and timing

Formats

Where this menu belongs

Markets

Where it eats best