Black Truffle Pasta with Aged Parmigiano Reggiano

I've already used some fresh black truffle shavings on soft scrambled eggs and brioche toast. Happily, there's still a chunk of black truffle remained. This time around, I'm going all out, shaving all the remaining truffle all over my pasta.

Black truffle pasta with aged Parmigiano Reggiano -

Ingredients (for two)?

• 200 grams linguine pasta
• 25 grams unsalted butter
• 20 grams fresh black truffle
• 20 grams aged Parmigiano Reggiano (plus extra for garnish)
• 1 small garlic clove
• Some pasta water
• Some salt

How?

Here's the original size of the fresh black truffles I bought. Each is about 18 to 20 grams, I used one whole small truffle for this recipe, guess that means half of small truffle per serving, quite luxurious.

Grate the cheese and set aside for later use.

Bring a big pot of water to a boil and season with pinches of salt. Transfer the pasta over and cook till al dente. Remember to scoop out some pasta water and save on the side in case we need it later on. Drain out the remaining pasta water when the pasta is ready.

While the pasta is cooking, peel and finely chop the garlic clove. Prepare a pan and transfer chopped garlic over. Also add in 25 grams of unsalted butter. 

Turn to medium heat and the butter will slowly melt away. Lightly sear the garlic till aromatic but not burnt. Transfer drained pasta over along with grated cheese. Mix and taste, season with some salt. The amount of salt needed varies depending on the cheese too, so judge with your own preference. As for myself, I used about 1 teaspoon of salt here.

If the mixture appears too dry, remember to pour some pasta water we saved earlier to slightly loosen the pasta. I only added about 2 tablespoons of pasta water. 

Plate and grate some more cheese right on top. Also shave the black truffle all over, serve immediately.

Usually I wouldn't involve garlic here because the scent might be too strong and overpowering the delicate fresh truffle. That's why I used only 1 "small" garlic clove and make sure to "gently" sear the garlic. That extra boost of aroma can actually provide more layers to the dish without jeopardizing the precious truffle scent. 

 

Another recipe using fresh black truffle:

• Soft scrambled eggs with black truffle shavings on brioche toast

Gazpacho with a Dollop of Sour Cream

I know this recipe came in late, gazpacho, basically a cold soup recipe doesn't quite fit right in the Northern hemisphere at the moment. However, the weather is warmer right now in the Southern hemisphere, so I guess my gazpacho recipe still doable somehow?

Gazpacho with a dollop of sour cream -

Ingredients (for one or two portions)?

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 small cucumber
• 1/2 medium bell pepper
• 1/4 small purple onion
• 1 medium garlic clove
• Small piece sour dough or white bread
• 1 dollop sour cream
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus extra for drizzling in the end
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus extra for garnish in the end
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

How?

Note that this recipe only makes enough for one or two servings. The main reason is that I scaled down the ingredients so that I can be sure everything fits in my blender at once. In the end all these ingredients filled up about half of my blender. So I guess if you'd like, double up the ingredients used for more servings if needed.

Chop the tomatoes into smaller pieces. Dice the cucumber into cubes, save about 1/3 of the tiny cucumber cubes for garnish in the end. Destem and remove the seeds of bell pepper, chop into smaller pieces. Peel and chop the purple onion. Peel and chop the garlic.

Prepare a blender, add in all the above prepped ingredients, except for the diced cucumber saved for garnish. 

Also add 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper to the blender. Blend till paste-like.

Remove the edge of the selected bread piece and add to the blending mixture.

Let it sit for about a minute first so the bread can absorb some moisture first. Put on the lid and blend again till smooth.

Taste and see if need more seasoning, otherwise transfer the mixture to serving bowl and into the fridge till fully chilled.

Right before serving, top the gazpacho with a dollop of sour cream and some cucumber cubes that we saved earlier. Drizzle some more olive oil and crack some black pepper over.

If you're more of a sweet over sourish tasting person, start out with 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar instead of 1 tablespoon. Only add more if needed after blending all the ingredients. On top of that, it doesn't have to be sour cream, a dollop of crème fraîche or even some fresh mozzarella work great too.

Other western soup recipes:

• Dairy free chicken and black rice soup
• Creamy corn soup