The Prague Post
October 12th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Hotel Prague Centre
Prague Real Estate

Home » Archives » Night & Day

Buried treasure

Highly prized truffles make almost any dish worth savoring
From the chef | Search restaurants | Archives

October 24th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Going underground to take risotto upscale: a seasonal dish from Italy.
enlarge
 

This is the time of year when, according to legend, tenacious — and hungry — swine hunt lumps of fungus lodged under the dirt.

At one time people did rely on pigs to sniff out the prized fungi, known to gourmands everywhere by the more elegant name of truffle. And some still use pigs during the harvest season, although trained dogs are more common nowadays.
Why? It’s difficult for humans to locate something that exists beneath the surface and grows spontaneously, albeit near certain trees.
Truffles are prized for their elusive nature and, increasingly, for their scarcity. Although ancient Egyptians are known to have dined on truffles and Greeks considered them an aphrodisiac (although Europeans during the Middle Ages associated truffles with the devil), the modern era hasn’t been kind to the subterranean treasure. The loss of forests to suburbs or farming has sliced harvests to a fraction of their Victorian-era heights.
But that hasn’t diminished the popularity of truffles, sought for their delicate aroma and the rich, musky flavor they bring to just about any dish.
About 70 varieties exist, with black truffles from Périgord in France among the most favored. White truffles rooted from the Piedmont region of Italy have many fans as well.
The haunting taste works with lobster or simple scrambled eggs, meat dishes or desserts (creme brulee or ice cream, for example). Recipes calling for an a la Périgourdine preparation generally pair truffles with foie gras. You’ll also find it in pasta, sauces and, of course, risotto.
In other words, the “black pearl” dresses almost any dish. But bear in mind that there are two kinds of truffle aficionados: those who consider truffles good because they are expensive, and those who prize them simply because they are so good.
Marek Raditsch is executive chef for the Kampa Group. This recipe is from Square, located at Malostranské náměstí 5, Prague 1–Malá Strana. Tel. 296 826 114.

 

TRUFFLE RISOTTO

(serves 4)
Ingredients:
200 grams (0.44 pounds) arborio rice
1 shallot
5 centiliters olive oil
10 centiliters white wine
80 grams butter
100 grams parmesan cheese
80 grams fontina cheese
4 egg yolks
1 centiliter truffle oil
40 grams black truffles
0.5 deciliter chicken broth
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Finely chop shallot and sauté in olive oil.
Add rice and sauté gently before adding white wine.
Cook until wine almost evaporates, then add chicken broth and cook until rice is al dente.
Remove from heat and stir in butter, truffle oil, grated parmesan and diced fontina.
Finally add egg yolks and stir.
Serve with grated slices of black truffle.
 


Other articles in Night & Day (24/10/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Provokator
Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.