Heads or Tails

 

This past week we were scheduled to be in Umbria celebrating my 50th and once again immersing ourselves in Italian culture and cuisine.  Since we were unable to make the trip across the ocean we have decided to try and create a truffle pasta at home using some home farmed (fished) ingredients.

 

USE WHITE OR BLACK TARTUFO IN THIS PASTA

 

We have been lucky enough to have shared several trips to Italy with Bennet and Virgilio and always made a stop to Wild Foods to indulge in truffle hunting and cooking with Francesca and her wonderful family.

I do not dare claim that our cooking is better or even close to it, but we will give it a go in honor of our Italian family and friends.

We will be back to forage and enjoy next year!

www.wildfoodsitaly.com

 

Tartufo & Lobster

Dec. 6, 2020

Ingredients

1 pound pappardelle
1 stick unsalted butter divided
2 cloves garlic very thinly sliced
2 4- ounce lobster tails thawed, shelled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream or 1 cup fat-free half and half whisked with ½ tablespoon cornstarch
1 ounce black or white truffles
1 shallot
¾ teaspoon salt
Lemon zest
2 ounces Parmesan cheese preferable Reggiano
Freshly grated pepper
Chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Dec. 6, 2020

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. One minute before draining the pasta, scoop out one cup of the pasta water and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, melt 7 tablespoons of butter (reserving 1 tablespoon for the end) in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and let it saute for 3 minutes until it is just softened. Add the lobster tails and stir until the lobster is just opaque, about 4-5 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream (or the half and half mixture), the truffles and salt. Let the mixture cook for 3 minutes, lower the heat to low temperature and add the pasta to the cream mixture, tossing the pasta around in the sauce until it is well coated, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup of the pasta water and keep tossing until the pasta is glossy and the sauce is not runny nor too thick. Remove the pan from the heat and add the truffle oil.
Plate the pasta and sprinkle the cheese, pepper and parsley on each dish.

Happy hunting,

Beth & Allan Mabon