mashed potatoes + truffles

We’re not a meat and potato kind of family by any stretch of the imagination. Most nights, even most weeks, we don’t really do the meat thing. It’s not that we are vegetarian, it’s just that, by the end of the day, the idea of eating a heavy, meat-filled meal just isn’t something I’m craving. I’m much more likely to either pull together some sort of pasta and a salad, or else just make it a 100% vegetable dinner, digging into the produce I’ve bought the previous Sunday at the Farmer’s market.

Don’t get me wrong. I also buy meat at the Farmer’s Market. But it’s usually in small quantities and will get mixed in with some sort of vegetable, becoming another ingredient in a bigger dish, and not the focus of the entire meal. In other words, I rarely do the Sunday Roast thing.

But this past Sunday, I’m not sure what got into me, but we went for the meat big time. After tooling around all my favorite vendors at the market, stocking up on cavolo nero, butternut squash, big bunches of carrots and enough bright red crisp apples to see us through the week I found myself in front of the butcher. And before I knew it I was the proud owner of a massive bistecca Fiorentina.

So rarely are Domenico and I home, just by ourselves, in Rome on a Sunday, that I felt the need to somehow make the meal special. The beautiful steak, which we were going to grill on the terrace, turned out to be just the starting point.

Once we got home I decided to improve on things by adding truffles. Because, well, why not? I remembered I had a load of truffles in my freezer just waiting to be used and Sunday lunch, just the two of us, seemed like the opportunity to break them out.

You’re probably thinking “Why on earth would she freeze truffles?” The truffles I’m referring to are summer truffles, which were given to me by my neighbor in Umbria, Marisa, who has been generous in the past. But this time the bag full of dark black nubbins weighed in at just about a pound. That’s a lot of truffles.  And were already frozen. Marisa freezes them all the time, and has even said that if you aren’t going to use them immediately, then it’s better to get them in the freezer as fast as possible.

While I would never think of freezing a precious white truffle, or a black winter truffle, these summer truffles are different. They are not quite as intense, and actually hold their aroma pretty well through freezing. And this past spring and summer, which was weirdly rainy, has meant a bumper crop for truffles. (Hence, the absurdly large gift from Marisa)

Steak with truffles shaved on top has always been one of those things that I see in restaurants but just seems too completely indulgent to order. My impulse purchase at the market was the perfect excuse to make it at home. Once I got a handful of truffles out of the freezer for the steak, it was only natural that I took out another handful for the side dish. The only thing that could improve mashed potatoes, I figured, was a silly amount of truffles.

Having learned the whole truffle butter thing from the truffle experts up at San Pietro a Pettine, the first thing I did (once the truffles were defrosted) was grate 3 of them into about 5 tablespoons of softened butter. I mixed it up and let it sit for three hours, so that the butter had time to absorb the truffles essence.

The rest was easy. I made mashed potatoes the normal way, with plenty of whole milk at the end. But instead of using just plain butter, I used my magic truffle butter. And then, for good measure, added an obscene amount of sliced truffle on top as well.

And that was lunch. A massive Fiorentina covered in a shower of truffles, and a big bowl of truffled mash. Barely a vegetable in site.

Unless, of course, you count the truffles.

Which I absolutely do.

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mashed potatoes + truffles

Prep 3 hours

Cook 25 mins

Total 3 hours, 25 mins

Author Elizabeth

Yield 2 -4

This recipe will serve 2 to 4, depending on how greedy you are.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized potatoes
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 4 walnut sized black summer truffles
• salt

Instructions

1. hours before you will be eating, grate 2 of the truffles, using a microplane grater, into a small bowl. Add the softened butter and mix well with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until you are ready to use, at least 3 hours.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half. Place in a pot and cover with water. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Cook until done, about 20 minutes or so.
3. Drain the potatoes, and place them back into the warm pot. Add the milk, and mash using your preferred method ( I use an old fashioned potato masher, but you can rice them if you want to).
4. Add the truffle butter, and mix well. Taste and adjust for salt.
5. Place in a bowl, and top with the rest of the truffles, thinly sliced.
6. Serve immediately.

The pretty powder blue and white dishes are from Sberna, in Deruta, and were a gift from them.