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Truffles want to be free
(You might like to see the Photodiary on
collecting truffles in our mmMultimedia section before
you read this. And there's a truffle feature in an earlier
web-only edition of Regional Food. As well as within this
piece, there are also extensive links on the last page.)
 hat I know about truffles is from eating them. Here, and in France and
in Italy. Stir in some research and now, after talking with
local chefs and growers I've developed a different
perspective to our local farmed truffle industry.
Let's start with my own limited overseas experience, which
twenty years after she wrote it, matches that of
Claudia Roden. She says in The Food of Italy (and almost
disapprovingly) that in Umbria...
"truffles
are so prolific they are put in everything - spaghetti,
omelettes, scrambled eggs, salads; served with fish, cheese,
as a garnish for grilled meats: spread on toast and in the
sauce of almost all the roast and stews. Great handfuls are
used grated, chopped and in shavings ... mashed up with
garlic and anchovies or with black olive paste or chopped
mushrooms."
Think slices of truffle on pizza. (Great and so simple.)Truffle in the stuffing in
a lamb roast. (Wonderfully tasty.)Spaghetti with virgin
olive oil and shaved truffles. (Intense clear flavours and
inexpensive.) Maybe these experiences
have spoilt me. You should be spoiled too.
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