Truffle Bruschetta

Truffles are one of those things you either love or hate. If you hate them, then you don’t have much of a problem. Just don’t eat them. But if you love them there are all sorts of hurdles to go through. First of all fresh truffles are intensely seasonal, appearing in very specific places for a very brief period during the year. They also start to lose their intense aroma and taste almost the minute they are harvested. So you either have to get yourself to the region where they appear, or else get those little buggers to you. Both expensive options which partly account for their high cost. Truffle Bruschetta

But if you do get yourself to Italy, or even want to indulge in some truffle consumption, here are a few tips to help you achieve your goals:

• -Truffle oil: Just say no. This applies to anywhere, at any time. Truffle oil is not your friend. 99.9% of the time it has absolutely no truffle in it, but is just a chemically generated facsimile. And while it might smell good at first, it almost always has a weird and funky aftertaste.
• -Truffles in jars: In Umbria and other regions like Piedimonte and Abruzzo, truffle consumption is not the precious ‘bring it to your table and weigh it’ kind of experience. Truffles are often processed into sauces, along with wild mushrooms, and often preserved in jars. These sauces find their way not only onto pasta, but onto pizza and crostini as well. Although slightly more expensive than other dishes, it is not going to break your budget.
• -Buying Truffles – Since fresh truffles are an agricultural item, in theory you can’t bring any back home with you if you are traveling to the USA. You can, however, stock up on jarred or packaged truffles. I mentioned the sauces above, but you will also see whole truffles, in jars, that are packed in a water and salt mixture. Another option is ‘carpaccio’ of truffles, thin slices packed in olive oil.
• -Truffled Stuff – One of the most delicious truffled delicacies is Pecorino al Tartufo. Small rounds of sheep milk cheese are flecked with dark bits of truffle that infuse the entire cheese with their earthy flavor. And if you see boar sausages with truffle? Buy them. Many types of salami are flavored with truffle, but in my opinion the marriage between boar and truffle is the best. Another of my favorite treats is truffle honey. Slivers of truffle are suspended in yellow honey, infusing it with a heavenly aroma and taste that pairs perfectly with aged pecorino

When I was in Abruzzo last week my friend Marino gave me a wonderful little jar of truffle carpaccio. Rather than save it for some ‘special’ occasion, I decided to crack open the jar and use it right away. The little jar was so packed with flavor that I was able to stretch it to three dinners for Domenico and me. The trick with these truffles is not to cook or heat them (like fresh truffles). Instead you want to gently layer them on top of something warm, so that the aroma wafts up, while the taste is not harmed by heat.

Fried eggs is an obvious choice, especially when you have great farmer’s market eggs.

I have a few more truffle recipes here, here and here since up in Umbria truffles are very easy to come by.

But my preferred option when I have a jar of truffle carpaccio  is Truffle Bruschetta, recipe below. You can find out more about the truffle carpaccio I used here. I’m not 100% sure they will ship to the states, but I figure if enough of you write to him he’ll figure it out. 😉   They also have a lot of other great products.

Interested in eating more truffles? That can be arranged. We always include a truffle day during our Week in Umbria Tour.