I’ve been gifted unusual things in my life and a gift of an Australian truffle while living in France is no exception. By weight, the truffle is one of the most expensive foods to purchase, so I was thrilled to receive this birthday gift – one truffle in an air-locked bag from a specialty truffle shop in the south of France, with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil flavoured with Black Truffle.
A truffle is an edible spore – an underground fungi in the Tuberaceae family – found in woodlands. It looks like a small, round, hard lump of dark soil. But to find one, a special detector is needed – the nose of a pig or a dog.
The one I received was a Winter Black Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum), transported from Australia, since it is winter Down Under. The price is volatile, but the average price per kilogram in 2023 in Europe was 1,383 euros. The average weight for one truffle is about 10-15 grams, which is enough for two people.
In France, the Winter Black Truffle, known as Truffle de Perigorde, is found in the southwest, from November to mid-March. The production of truffles has declined in France from over 1,000 tonnes a season about 200 years ago to just 30 tonnes in recent years.
But, when given a truffle, cook it up promptly because it loses moisture rapidly, and has a short use-by date.
I found a risotto recipe from the Fine and Wild gastronomic magazine. To serve 2 people, the ingredients are:
1 fresh black truffle
180 grams Arborio rice
1 litre of chicken or vegetable stock
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
75 grams butter
100 grams grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Step One
Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan and keep on low simmer.
In a heavy-based pan, place the shallots and garlic in the olive oil over a moderate heat until soft and translucent.
Add rice to the pan and heat until all grains are hot, lightly toasted,
translucent, and sticky.
Step Two
Turn up the heat and add the white wine to the rice and stir until almost completely reduced.
Add one third of the hot stock, stirring until absorbed.
Lower the heat to moderate.
Step Three
Keep stirring small quantities of stock into the mix until it is almost totally absorbed and the rice is just cooked (about 15 minutes).
Not all the stock may be needed.
The rice should be able to be dragged through the pan with the spoon and the risotto should gently flow back.
Step Four
Turn off the heat.
Add the butter and Parmesan cheese to the risotto, with the salt and pepper to taste (if needed).
Quickly beat the butter and cheese into the risotto until it becomes a creamy consistency.
The risotto will keep absorbing liquid so let it rest for a minute before serving.
Add more stock if needed.
Serve in a warm bowl.
Shave the truffle thinly and place on top of the risotto.
MARTINA NICOLLS
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Martina Nicolls is an Australian author and international human rights-based consultant in education, healing and wellbeing, peace and stabilization, and foreign aid audits and evaluations. She lives in Paris.
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