Truffle Season & an Italian Luncheon
The International White Truffle Fair, Fiera del Tartuffo, runs from October to November in Alba. Located in the region of Piedmonte in Norther Italy, Alba is about an hour and a half to 2 hour drive from Turin or Milan.
The market is located in the town centre. In addition to offering beautiful white truffles and all forms of truffle products; one can also find great wines, spirits, hazelnuts, salamis, pastas, local vegetables, and artigenal products from Piedmonte. The fair is full of entertainment; there is live music, chef demos, truffle classes, wine tastings and amazing local restaurants serving truffled dishes to keep you full for the entire visit.
My client took a quick trip to Alba for 24 hours from her home in Milan. Wanting to share her truffle experience with her friends in London she brought 2 truffles and some other products to her London home. We discussed a simple classic Italian menu to showcase the truffles and decided to have a Sunday Italian luncheon.
On arrival the guests were welcomed with an Aperol Spritz, imported salami and shards of parmesan cheese drizzled with white truffle oil. Once everyone sat at the table the first course was served family style. Platters of carpaccio with rocket, parmesan, truffle oil and truffle 'snow' were passed around; as well as warm Italian breads and an organic salad with fresh herbs, radicchio, and a lemon dressing.
For the second course the guests enjoyed fettuccine with a butter emulsion, white truffle shavings, and a confit egg yolk. This course was individually plated and the truffle was freshly shaved in front of the guests. Each guests was instructed to crack their gorgeous dark orange yolk and mix it in with the egg fettuccine. It's difficult to beat the combination of egg and white truffle!
To finish the meal a limoncello sgroppino made with lemon sorbet and prosecco added a zingy touch of sweetness. Finally, Baci chocolates were served with espresso and tea. While conversations flowed, Italian music played in the background, and Italian wines filled the glasses, it was safe to say that everyone enjoyed the ambiance, company, and food. For a moment they might have felt they were in Northern Italia!
For this event my client hand picked the white truffles, salami, parmesan, and truffle oil from Alba. The other ingredients I hand selected from London markets. The beef for the carpaccio and gorgeous eggs for the pasta were purchased at Ginger Pig, one of the best butchers in London. I went to their Borough Market location, but they currently have 8 locations around London. The lettuces were purchased from Wild Country Organics at the farmers market in Putney on Saturday, along with the fresh breads from Olivier Favrel.
Ciao for now!