Buried Treasure---Truffles

                     Truffles grow underground & specially trained dogs are required to find them

October is the beginning of the season for the world’s most expensive culinary treasure, the white truffle.  Only grown in a small area near the Italian Alps called Piedmont, the white truffle (tartufo bianco) is the most fragrant and most intensely flavored of all of the many varieties of truffles.  For this reason it is often called the “King of truffles.”  Its step-sister, the not-as-fragrant-black truffle, is grown in several parts of the world, but it is the highly prized white truffle which gourmands around the world not only covet, but pay mega Euros to feast on this buried edible masterpiece.

                             The tartufo bianco is the most aromatic & flavorful of all truffles

All truffles are a type of an exotic fungus that grows underneath the ground near the roots of certain trees.  In Piedmont, Italy the white truffle variety grows commonly near the roots of hazelnut, oak, pine or beech trees.  Truffles, a kind of distant cousin of wild mushrooms, are found by special dogs who have been trained to smell these highly fragrant edibles which are concealed several inches under the forest’s floor.

Piedmont in October is one big love-fest with the white truffle.  The charming medieval town of Alba is home to the Truffle Festival, a decadent food gala celebrating the area’s famous white culinary diamonds.  Weekends are grid-lock with aficionados from around the world descending on Alba for a smell and taste of the intoxicating white truffle.   There is pageantry with parades, music, and dance---all to honor the illustrious tartufo bianco.  

                                     Alba's Truffle Festival is a do not miss event for foodies

 If you can’t make it to Piedmont for the Truffle Festival, the next best thing may be dining at a Michelin star restaurant somewhere in the world during the months of October or November.    Be prepared, however, to spend almost $100 more per dish for the addition of the white truffle.  This means a $50 pasta will become $150 with the tartufo bianco.

Buon appetito!

Fabulous Farro

                               Farro with Butternut Squash, Goat Cheese, Arugula & Walnuts

I’m in Italy with a group of Wine-Knows at a Renaissance villa in Umbria.  Tomorrow we head to Tuscany for the week at a stupendous 10,000 square foot villa on the sea.  Farro is one of both Tuscany and Umbria’s classical foods, however, until recently it has played second fiddle outside of central Italy to pasta.  Now it’s becoming the latest culinary craze on this side of the Atlantic.

Farro is an ancient grain.  It is not a wheat but a plant and a grain all its own.   A grain of farro looks and tastes somewhat like a lighter brown rice.  In Tuscany the grain dates from the Neolithic era.  Etruscans ate farro.  Farro fueled the Roman armies. But, the grain did not originate in Italy.  Research indicates that farro came from the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia.

Farro is a light starch, but with a big texture and an almost nutty taste.  It has a distinctive texture that I love.  It’s also extremely versatile.  Like pasta, it can be eaten plain, in a soup, or even in a salad.  Farro contains a starch similar to that found in the rice used to make risotto, releasing a creamy, binding liquid when cooked.  But, unlike risotto, farro doesn’t become gummy.  Each grain of farro has a protective layer of bran.  This means that every little morsel retains a tender but distinct bite…ever after it sits for days in your frig after preparation. 

Rich in fiber, farro also offers magnesium, as well as vitamins A, B, C and E.  It grows best in barren, high-altitude terrain, hece, is almost grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers.  More good news:  because it is so easily digested and so low in gluten, farro can often be eaten by those who are normally gluten-intolderant.  

I've had farro in many preparations, but here is one of my faves:

Farro with Roasted Butternut Squash, Walnuts, Arugula & Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

1 C farro

1.5 cups cubed squash

1 C arugula

½ cup crumbled goat cheese

1/3 cup chopped alwanuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon walnut  oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vineyar

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel and cut squash into ½ inch cubes, toss with olive oil and a pinch of salt.  Put on well oiled baking sheet and roast for 20 min.

In a saucepan bring 2 cups of water with salt to boil, add farro, cover and summer until faro is tender with a slight chew (15-20 min).  Remove from heat and drain.

In a large bowl toss farro with squash, add walnut oil and balsamic, arugula, chopped nuts and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Note:  can be served either hot or cold

Buon appetito!