Notes from a Devon Kitchen

Summer Truffle

summer truffle

When Mario Fontana came over for the Topsham Food Festival, he brought as a special treat a black summer truffle - tuber aestivum.

tuber aestivum

Truffles are rare treats in our house. Though summer truffles do not have the seductive pungency of the prized white truffle from Alba, this was still a thing of beauty!

pasta

We only needed to prepare it as simply as possible. Some Seggiano spaghetti alla chitarra from Darts Farm and the simplest sauce made with olio extra vergine d'oliva from Badia di Morrona (whose wines we now import through Vino), a head of fresh garlic, an ajo limon chili. I grated some of the truffle into the sauce and heated it very gently.

pasta with summer truffle

Once the pasta was cooked al dente, we mixed it with the simple sauce. Here Guy tosses the pasta to allow it to fully absorb the sauce.

grated summer truffle

Grating truffle over the bowl of cooked and dressed spaghetti. Claire watches hungrily!

truffle

Then a few paper thin slices of truffle to finish.

pasta with truffle

Spaghetti alla chitarra with summer truffle - the perfect plate of pasta.

guy millon

I think Guy liked it!