Tagliolini with white truffle.
Tagliolini al tartufo bianco.
It’s truffle season here in Northern Italy and tagliolini are among the most popular pastas eaten with this king of the Italian kitchen. Truffles are most definitely an acquired taste and not everybody likes them. However, those who do will tell you there’s almost nothing better in the world of mother nature’s culinary delicacies.
Truffles in Italy.
There are basically two main types of truffles, black and white. Black truffles are harvested in autumn and winter and can be found in a number of parts of Italy, including here in Veneto where I live. Because they are more common than their white cousin, they are less expensive, but still highly valued in the kitchen. White truffles, on the other hand, are rarer. Here in Italy they are found mostly in the Piemonte (Piedmont) region, most famously, in the countryside around the cities of Alba and Asti, as well as in Marche near Urbino, in Molise and Abruzzo and in Tuscany near the town of San Miniato.
White Truffles.
White truffles are so highly prized that they sell for thousands of euros per kilo. The current price is around 150 euros an ounce (approx 30 grms)! Because of their value, strong aroma and taste white truffles are used quite sparingly in cooking. The most common method of serving them is simple with just butter, a generous amount of cheese and pasta, such as tagliolini. This is how they eat pasta with white truffles in Piemonte and how we ate the white truffle we were lucky enough to find at a local chestnut fair recently.
The pasta.
Tagliolini pasta looks like very narrow tagliatelle. In fact, the main difference between the two pasta types is in the cut, rather than the dough. However, tagliolini from Piemonte (known locally as tajarin) is often very thin and usually the dough is egg yolk rich. In restaurants in Piemonte you can see it on the menu as ’40 yolk tajarin’ meaning they use 40 egg yolks per kilo of flour to make tajarin. Of course this pasta is very rich. But it’s the perfect pasta for white truffles!
Our truffle purchase
Our white truffle!
Local produce fairs, of which there are many in Italy, often have stalls selling different seasonal and local produce. The fair we went to was the annual chestnut fair in the village of San Mauro di Saline, famous for its chestnuts. However we came across a stall selling local black truffles and the stall keeper had one white truffle left to sell. We decided to treat ourselves and buy it. Out tagliolini with white truffle dinner was, needless to say, delicious!
Because truffles have such a strong taste they aren’t usually served with pasta and many other ingredients. This recipe for tagliolini with white truffle is the simplest and most traditional way to eat white truffle with pasta. However, some recipes also include cream and others porcini mushrooms, which I really like and want to cook soon!
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Buon Appetito!
Other pasta and truffle recipes on The Pasta Project! (You can use white or black truffles)
- Tuscan ricotta gnudi with black truffle
- Pasta alla Norcina
- Tagliolini with taleggio and truffle
- Pappardelle with walnut sauce and truffle
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Tagliolini with white truffle
Ingredients
- 360 g tagliolini you can also use tagliatelle or spaghetti
- 80 g butter
- 60 g parmesan grated
- 1 white truffle 2-3 ounces/ 55-85 grms
- salt for cooking pasta
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put a pan of water on to boil. Add salt when it starts to boil and bring to the boil again. Cook the tagliolini as per the instructions on the packet until they are 'al dente'. Save some of the cooking water before draining.
- In the meantime wipe the truffle with a damp cloth to remove any soil particles and grate half of it.
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan until it foams.
- Add the grated truffle to the butter and 1 or 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.
- Add the cooked pasta to the butter, sprinkle with some grated Parmesan and cook over a gentle heat for a minute whilst stirring the pasta to coat it with the sauce.
- Divide the pasta among 4 warmed plates, sprinkle a little more Parmesan onto the pasta and finally shave the remaining truffle over the top of the dish.
- Serve immediately. Buon appetito!
Maria B says
Hi Jacqui,
I wonder what kind of dessert you pair with this pasta.
Thanks for sharing!
Jacqui says
Hi Maria, I think since this is a very special pasta dish, I’d pair it with an equally special dessert. Like a special panna cotta or tirimisu (there are so many recipes) or a ricotta crostata or a torta caprese.
Adi says
I made this for my family, and while the whole thing did taste pretty good, none of us could feel the taste of the truffles. It just tasted like pasta with butter and cheese. I am trying to understand what to do with truffles, maybe you know another recipe in which their flavor is more noticeable?
Jacqui says
Hi Adi, thanks for your message! Can you tell me what kind of truffles you used? It’s unusual for fresh truffles to have no taste unless they are very old.
Belle says
I am visiting Tuscany for two months, went to a truffle festival to purchase one and found this recipe for tagliolini with truffles. It was easy to follow and I enjoyed the pasta and truffles. This was my first time cooking with truffles so I was a bit nervous, but it came out well. I added the water from the pasta to the sauce when I added the pasta, rather than prior, as the recipe suggested. Thank you for a wonderful blog.
Jacqui says
Dear Belle, thank you for your comment! How wonderful to be spending 2 months in Tuscany! I’m so glad you enjoyed your first experience of cooking with truffles! Such a delicious combination! I’m happy you like my blog and hope you’ll try out some other recipes too! All the best from Verona!
Stephanie Belvedere says
I make a lot of pastas by hand. Recently made the gnudi with ricotta. A break from the matterello, Cooked mine within 3 hours, light and delicious. A few days later cooked the rest. Like you mention, not as fluffy as the first batch but still very good.I like the idea of rolling the gnudi in semolina. Last night had tagiatelli with a smothering of white truffles. Outstanding dish. Anyone new to pasta making might want to start with gnudi..Simple, fast and a rewarding dish.
Jacqui says
Those ricotta gnudi are so good aren’t they? I’m dying to make them again but maybe with porcini instead of truffles! Of course, I love truffles, especially white ones. However, they’re not as easy to find as black truffles and of course, much more expensive. My other favourite way to eat truffles is on fried egg! Have you ever tried it, Stephanie?