I love truffles… the subterranean fungus, that is (although I’m quite partial to the chocolate sweets). I had the pleasure of meeting Will Bailey of Truffle Face, a Cambridge-based importer of high-quality affordable truffles from Orvieto, Italy. I interviewed him for Flavour, Cambridge’s food and drink radio programme (podcast here).

Will even made me a truffle-laden lunch… The Ultimate Truffle Grilled Cheese sandwich (recipe here). What a treat!

As we talked all things truffle, I couldn’t resist purchasing a pack of Tagliatelle al Tartufo, made by artisan company Margió, based in Umbria where Truffle Face source their truffles. I knew the tagliatelle would be tasty as the truffle is baked right into the pasta. You can actually see the yummy bits. All of Truffle Face’s products, such as truffles, pasta, cheese, oil and condiments can be purchased through their website.

Will was kind enough to give me a fresh black summer truffle and I couldn’t wait to get cooking. My recipe is based on Truffle Face’s Truffle Spaghetti recipe. I pulled a “double truffle” as I used truffle pasta as well as grated fresh black summer truffles.

Ingredients:

50ml extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Zest of half a lemon
50g butter
250g truffle tagliatelle
Black summer truffle, finely grated
Fresh parsley, chopped

Boil water for the tagliatelle in a large pot. While waiting for the water to boil, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet.

Add the garlic and lemon zest and let them infuse in the olive oil. Do not let the garlic brown. Remove from heat. Add the butter and some grated truffle.

Once the water for the pasta is at a rolling boil, add the truffle tagliatelle and cook for about 4 minutes until it is al dente.

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss until the tagliatelle are fully coated.

Top with fresh parsley and spoon onto plates. Grate some more fresh truffle on each serving.

Serve immediately. Makes 2 servings. Enjoy the truffle extravaganza!

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