The Treasured Truffle

By Stephen Ashton

The Story of the $35,000 Truffle

The Big One! A 2.2 lb white truffle found in the Piedmont region of Italy,the largest found. It is on it's way to LA to be auctioned off.

Each fall something special occurs in the wooded lands of one small area of Piemonte, Northern Italy. The foggy mornings and warm days create great conditions for Nebiollo wine grapes that make the great Barolos and Barbarescos… but that’s not all! The same calcareous clay soils, rich in salts and silica, and the moist mountain weather inspire the growth of a rare tubor that grows amongst the roots of oak, poplar, lime, hazelnut and willow trees. It is the "Tubor Magnatum Pico," or as they say in Italy, Tartufo Bianco d’Alba… the Treasured White Truffle.

These are not to be confused with the French Black Truffles, which are not nearly as fragrant; nor are they as rare.

Although technically a fungus, like a mushroom, the aroma and flavor can’t be compared to it’s above ground cousins. In fact, the most common description of those in the throws of ecstatic indulgence is… "INDESCRIBABLE."

But if pressed, one could say that the fragrance is strong – so strong in fact that it is illegal to carry them on public transportation in Italy – and once experienced, can’t be forgotten. It is earthy, woody, a bit like very pungent garlic, and positively addicting! It cannot be cultivated, and like a fine big Barolo, is really only found in Piemonte. In fact, the earthy forest floor aroma of a great Barolo is in perfect harmony with the Tartufo Bianco d’Alba. Many swear that it is an aphrodisiac, but this evidence is purely anecdotal.

They grow anew each year and are hunted by ground-sniffing dogs that are certainly among the most highly prized house-pets anywhere. Truffles must be used within a short period – once taken they begin to lose their fragrance and flavor at once. But none-the-less, every Fall, gourmets, in the Langhe, Milan, Paris, New York, and now Los Angeles, and the Wine Country of Napa and Sonoma, gather at fine restaurants to delicately consume the treasured truffle shavings atop a variety of Piemontese dishes.

One such gathering occurred in three cities simultaneously: Alba, Italy, New York and Los Angeles on November 10th. It was the Fourth Asta Mondiale del Tartufo Charity Auction and Luncheon. The auction was simulcast and bidders vied for a variety of the finest tartufi bianchi found this year. In Tony May’s San Domenico New York restaurant, Grinzane Cavour Castle near Alba and Piero Selvagio’s Valentino restaurant in Los Angeles, prominent restaurateurs gathered to bid on rare tubors.

The grand finale was the offering of a monster 2.2 pound beauty found under a lime tree by the dog "Black." Bidding got feverish when Robin Leach, the auctioneer in New York, proclaimed the Big Apple to be the "greatest city in the world." Rising to meet the
challenge was Joe Pytka in Los Angeles, a top TV commercial director and a new restaurateur with just opened Bastide. "I couldn’t let Tony May win that truffle after a remark like that" Pytka says.

Truffle Man Joe Pytka, owner of Bastide Restaurant, with daughter Arielle, and supplier Daniele Bera, of Alba, Italy	Barbara Lazaroff of Spago looks on with anticipation.

His 12-year-old daughter Arielle bid the price all the way from an opening bid of $8,500 to the highest price paid ever – $35,000!

After the auction a sumptuous Piemontese five course meal was served by Chef’s Alain Giraud (Bastide), Lee Hefter (Spago) and Angelo Auriana (Valentino) including :

Brodo Del Re

Crostini Alla Fonduta Di Formaggio Raschera
Con Tartufi Bianchi

Agnolotti Del Plin Classici Con Tartufi Bianchi E…
Tartufi Bianchi

Guancia Di Vitello Brasata Al Barolo, Risotto Vialone Nano Al Reggiano "1999" Ed Tartufi Bianchi

Piemontese Bonet Con Pere Al Caramello
I Veri Cannoli Di Ricotta

And a great selection of Barolo and Barbaresco wines.
The beauty of the great white truffle is that it makes magnificent simple foods, as well as rich ones. Shaved on eggs it is a delight, or a great risotto rich in reggiano; heavy meats
benefit from it, and fonduta doesn’t seem
right without it once you taste it topped with shavings of tartufo. But my favorite is the Agnolotti del Plin, a unique specialty from the Langhe in Piedmont.

AGNOLOTTI DEL PLIN
from friends in Alba, Italy

AGNOLOTTI DEL PLIN is a typical Piemontese dish that is rarely found outside of the area, even nearby in Northern Italy. They are eaten in the Langhe and Roero areas with truffles when in season, but are delicious under any circumstances. AGNOLOTTI DEL PLIN (literally – in Piemontese language - "pinched" agnolotti) are filled with meat, cheeses or vegetables. The meat version is most typical.

Ingredients for the filling:
(serves 4 to 6)

400 grams Veal
400 grams Pork
200 grams Turkey
200 grams Parmigiano Cheese
1 glass Red Wine
2 Eggs
2 handfulls Rice (200 grams)
2 cups Vegetable stock or water
1 or 2 Onions
hearty bunch Spinach (optional)
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Nutmeg (freshly ground)
Salt and Pepper

Sauté sliced onion(s) with a touch of rosemary until browned. Add the meats and sear on a high flame. Add salt. Add wine and reduce, still on high flame, then add stock or water. Add rice.
Cover and roast on low flame for two hours. Add more water if necessary. Reserve the pan drippings. Blanch the spinach. When tender add in the spinach, mince the meat, traditionally by hand with a knife, but a mechanical means can be used if careful not to reduce to a paste.
Mix in nutmeg, salt and pepper, and Parmigiano cheese.

Pasta Ingredients:

500 grams White Wheat Flour
(00 grade in Italian flour or American cake flour)
4 Eggs (for a richer pasta use 3 yolks and 1 whole egg)
1/2 cup Warm Water
pinch Salt
On a marble, Formica or pastry board make a pile of the flour with a "well" in the middle. Add a healthy pinch of salt and the eggs. Knead the ingredients, sprinkling with warm water as required to soften and flour to keep from sticking. Roll out to a paper thin pastry. Cut into two large strips. Roll one strip and powder with corn meal and cover to keep moist.
In one strip, spoon small uniform balls of filling every 1 inch to 1 1/4 inches apart. Cover the filling strip with the top strip of pasta. Pat closed the two strips and seal them around each filling with the fingers. Cut apart with a zig-zag cutting wheel. Pinch each agnolotti closed.
Bring a pot of salted water or broth to a boil and add in the agnolotti. Skim them off as they rise to surface. Place them in a serving dish that has some of the sauce from the roasted meats. Add melted butter and more sauce. Serve with Parmigiano and, if you are lucky, plenty of shaved white truffles!