Truffles – so beautiful, yet rather ugly. So difficult to come by and therefore expensive. So rare and so wonderful. Although currently limited by the pandemic to access to her beloved Italy, writer Elizabeth Margolis-Pineo tells us where to go and how to find truffles in some of her favorite parts of Tuscany. Elizabeth also shared a recipe using truffles with Real Food Traveler readers.
Whole and shaved black truffles. Photo from iSTOCK.
Off the Beaten Strada: Tuscan truffles
Cypresses twist dark green against blue sky. It’s golden autumn and the sun warms the legendary Tuscan Hills. The deep, rolling green provides the calm we crave each fall, and truffles provide the sapore.
October-November is truffle season in Italy, a great time for sipping, sampling and savoring. These ugly little gems are among the priciest flavors in the world; white truffles or tartufi bianchi are often priced well above
$4,000/pound. Truffles are seasonal and have a short shelf life, but light sprinkling elevates any dish from good to exquisite.
Famous for earthy fragrance and taste, truffles are the autumnal stars of Italy’s abundant culinary scene.
How to find truffles: Tuscany
Tuscany’s fertile terrain boasts an abbondanza of world-class truffles — marvelous white and black gems that nestle mysteriously among the roots of hazelnut, oak and chestnut trees. Truffles’ intense fragrance and flavor have been described as a mixture of chocolate and earth. Some detect hints of garlic and shallots. Me, I get subtle, nutty hints of the truffle’s “parent” trees.
Store window in Siena. Photo © margolispineo
Traveling in Tuscany each fall (until this year!), brings a feast of delicate and dazzling tastes. Many towns hold truffle festivals through October and November, with tastings and locally grown truffle products for sale. Town centers become a wonderland to “sip, savor and explore,” with local wines, cheeses and salumi, olive oil and grappa. And local restaurants are busy creating some of the world’s most fragrant, delectable and unctuous truffle dishes.
How to find truffles: Tartufo!
The Ponte Vecchio. Photo © margolispineo
The city of Florence reveres the truffle. Here they are folded into everything from eggs to pasta, risotto to potatoes, whipped into a paste and stuffed into panini sandwiches.
Last November, after an equal parts exhilarating and exhausting morning at the Uffizi Gallery, I enjoyed a beautiful plate of taglialine tartufo that I have been obsessing about ever since. Shaved white truffles over buttery pasta, mmm, the dish induced a velvety swoon.
Uh-oh. I ask our straight-backed waiter, Stefano, for a bit more Parmegiano. He insists that I do not really want it. “Please, Madam,” he begs, and I think I see tears in his eyes. I am corrected and humbled. The subtle dish is magically earthy and delicate — exquisite. The memory lingers and sustains me in “questo tempo pazzo,” this crazy time.
An example of a pasta dish with truffles. Photo courtesy of Pixelme.
Italian truffles: Rare and Refined
I indulge in a lingering visit to Santa Margherita dei Cerchi, the beautiful 11th century cathedral where Dante first spied his true love, Beatrice. The heady combination of reverence and romance always makes me ravenous.
Lucky for me, it’s not far to Procacci, a legendary wine and truffle emporium in the heart of the city, nestled among the posh designer stores on Via Tornabuoni. Procacci has specialized in truffles since 1885. The family served as King Vittorio Emmanuele II’s personal truffle supplier, and the royal prestige adds to their present-day raffinato ambiance. Insider’s tip: Don’t miss their soft finger sandwiches filled with truffle cream — cream di tartufo — whose recipe is naturally still a well-kept secret.
Procacci’s reasonably priced truffle panini are stuffed with crema di tartufo. The small finger sandwiches pack deep, earthy flavor into each delicious bite; the best bar food. Procacci’s menu includes panino with truffles and foie gras, truffled anchovies and butter, or prosciutto crudo and truffled artichoke cream. Wow.
Sip a glass of Prosecco and savor the elegance of Old World Florence.
How to find truffles: Siena
One of our favorite Tuscan cities is Siena, a Unesco World Heritage site since 1995. Its medieval history, beautiful architecture and famous bareback Palio horserace make it one of the most strikingly handsome and lively destinations in Italy.
Siena Cathedral. Photo © margolispineo
Siena is also a city devoted to the truffle. During its annual white truffle festival, the experience of truffle hunting is demystified, and visitors gain an understanding of how the white truffle is hunted and collected.
Truffle and wine tours are abundantly available from mid-October. Tours include Siena Tartufi, “Tuscan Tuffle Experience,” a guided walking tour with professional truffle hunter, Alessandro, and skilled sniffing dogs Moka and Pepita. At the end of the tour you are given the “precious fruit of your research.” If you have the facilities for a do-it-yourself truffle feast, great. If not, most tour guides are happy to recommend a delicious truffle-centric meal at a local trattoria or ristorante.
If and when you are truffled-out, visit a vineyard winery offering tastings and tours. Or participate in the gathering and pressing of olives. Book a stay in a stone castello or farmhouse surrounded by olive groves and sweeping views of the Tuscan Hills.
This is my Italy.
And if you find yourself sequestered at home, like me, until we are welcomed back in Europe, there are several fine truffle olive oils here in the U.S. for your delectation. Just a few drops will bring back happy memories and tickle the senses. Buon appetito!
Hungry for more? Here’s a recipe for White Truffle Pasta. Subscribe to RealFoodTraveler.com so you don’t any future recipes.
— Story and photos (except where noted) by Elizabeth Margolis-Pineo
Hungry for more? Enjoy some of these tantalizing articles about Italy like this one about chocolate in Sicily; find out why lemons are so important in Italy; and places foodies need to go in Puglia.
PIN this article to Pinterest so you know where to go when you get to go to Tuscany.
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