By: Ria Rueda, Director of Public Relations
After enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast amongst friends and family, I decided to continue the decadence by attending a Truffle Cooking Class last Saturday. Chef Scot Quis, Executive Chef of our Stamford restaurant, hosted a cooking class to celebrate the almighty white truffle. Seated around our horseshoe-shaped bar in Stamford were 20 of Chef Scott’s “regulars” eagerly waiting for the class to begin. I felt like I was at a concert waiting for the main act–Chef Scott, the culinary rock star, to appear. The class was part history lesson and part showing culinary techniques, which were a great prelude to the final part…the moment when we were able to taste the fruit of Chef’s labor. While Chef was educating everyone about his love affair (or his addiction, I cannot decide) with the white truffle, his face beamed as he recalled the first time he experienced a truffle and how he loves to use this funghi-ful delicacy in some of his dishes.
Italian white truffles are one of the most intoxicating delicacies during the fall. What’s not to love about this earthy, buttery, and musky aroma when it’s added to plates of pasta, risotto, pizza or eggs? Harvested in northern Italy from October through December, this funky mushroom grows in the world underground where specially trained dogs have to sniff them out. The two main species of truffles are white and black, each with its own distinct and delicious flavor profile. They’re highly coveted and can be extremely expensive but worth every penny. Just a shave on your taste bud is a hallelujah moment. At Barcelona, we source our truffles from Urbani. Imported from Italy, the Urbani team visits us with handkerchiefs full of big, fresh, white truffles and very precise scales. Our chefs buy them by the piece and Chef Scott cannot place his order fast enough.
Chef Scott always brings it with truffle season. This season, Chef’s “off the menu” truffle items include: homemade gnocchi with a light cream sauce; farm fresh eggs from Farah’s Farm in Wilton; his CD-sized duck egg and spinach ravioli covered in shaved truffles, and the diamond of the kitchen…white truffle lasagna. He explains that you do not cook truffles—just shave them and you want to keep them as thin as possible. While he showed us his Rolls Royce of truffle shavers, we can purchase a less expensive, yet good version at Williams Sonoma.
Another way to incorporate truffles in your dishes without having to break the bank is by using truffle oil. Truffle oil is almost exclusively used as a finishing oil and drizzled in small amounts over a dish at the end of preparation. It is not used for cooking because the flavor will be compromised if exposed to high heat. Here are my top five reasons why I personally love truffle oil:
1) It’s Wallet – Friendly: You can find white or black truffle oil in specialty markets such as Balducci’s or you can purchase Barcelona’s private label truffle oil at our restaurant or at the marketplace on barcelonawinebar.com. If you have tasted one of Barcelona’s signature dishes, Hanger Steak with Truffle Sauce, we use our oil and truffle peelings to make the sauce. Here’s a video of Chef Frank Proto, Executive Chef at Barcelona New Haven, teaching viewers how to make the savory truffle sauce (video).
2) A Little Goes a Long Way
3) It’s Simple in its Complexity: It’s not a complicated ingredient and it’s actually one of the easiest things you can use in the kitchen.
4) It’s Oh-So Versatile: Some ingredients and seasonings collect dust on our shelves, used only for rare-occasion recipes. Truffle oil can be used on almost anything: pasta, eggs, meats, salads, potatoes, etc.
5) It’s Culinary Inspiration: It’s simple to use but it inspires amazing recipes.
And now back to Chef Scott’s cooking class…the three courses served were:
• Sheep’s milk cheese with truffle shavings served on a crostini and paired with Pedro Amontillado sherry
• A salad using microgreens sourced from Abilis in Greenwich; fennel; mustard and truffle peelings
• Lasagna made with spinach, potatoes, leeks, manchego cheese and topped with truffle shavings
Eating a dish made with white truffles is a gastronomic nirvana, and happily I found enlightenment at Barcelona Restaurant. Namaste.