I got a new position at work and I’m using it as an excuse to open a nice bottle of wine and have a fancy meal. I have my eyes on a 1961 Ferrando Carema that I bought recently that looks to be in fantastic shape. Given the time of year, I was thinking black truffle might be in order. But, I’ve never had an aged Carema and I’ve never cooked with fresh truffle before. So,
1- I suspect this will be a fantastic pairing, but figured I would double check with the Berserkers here before investing $100+ on a single truffle.
2- Any other pairings to suggest?
3- Any suggestions on where to source a fresh black truffle? I live in Connecticut, so a NYC based store seemed like the way to go. I was looking at Eataly, Urbani, and Trufflin. I found a site called Gourmet Food Store that sells them for quite a bit cheaper but the reviews are mixed; I was thinking of avoiding them. I want the good stuff! Thoughts?
This is just me personally but for an older Nebbiolo I would go with very simple flavors. Maybe a good veal cut (salt & pepper) and oven baked potato wedges. That way the wine can be more in the center.
Could be worth having a back up bottle if it’s not full on that night (and drink it the following night).
If you opt for the truffle and get hold of fresh truffles, shave right before serving.
You want to shave the truffle onto something simple – pasta with butter, for instance, or a plain risotto. At the Alba truffle festival many years ago, I had some served on scrambled eggs, which was superb.
That is one badass pairing. I love eating octopus, but my partner would probably pass out if she saw a big tentacle sitting there on the plate. I’ll have to consider for the future.
These suggestions are helpful. Please keep them coming. I’m still leaning towards truffle though since I’ve never cooked with a fresh one before. The truffle is kind of as much the star here as the wine.
My plan was for homemade tagliatelle with a little butter. That’s it. And I’ll have a backup ready.
One good trick if the issue is the “visual appeal” of the tentacles (or the texture for that matter) is to do a “civet de zourite” (basically a stewed octopus). I had if for the first time on a trip to La Réunion. Once the octopus pieces are cooked to perfection, you can basically shred the meat in the pot using a fork. The tentacles disappear, the texture is not the same. You can then declare to your partner that she/he loves octopus and that the next time it’ll be grilled tentacles!
That is just a pointer for the octopus as a “civet de zourite” should never ever come close to a black truffle or old Nebbiolo!
I agree with John’s suggestions. About a year ago I had a Parisian scrambled egg dish with truffle that was incredible. This was in NJ and the dish was better than anything I had at the Alba Truffle festival.
For eggs, an old restaurant trick is to put the truffle in a sealed container with the uncracked raw eggs the night before. The aroma let off by the truffle will penetrate the eggshell and flavor the eggs. The next morning scramble as usual (with lots of high end butter, we do 1TBL to 3 eggs ratio) and then top with your truffles. Eat with toasted sourdough (I prefer dry). Some restaurants don’t even put the truffle on top and still sell the eggs as “truffled”
Another voice that cannot speak to the wine but I just sourced 2 ounces of black truffle last week from Sabatino and they were excellent, two very nice one ounce pieces. They are in Connecticut if I’m not mistaken fwiw. And if you’re ordering more than one ounce the price is a bit better than Urbani who also usually has nice product. If you have the time store the truffle overnight with fresh eggs. The yolk absorbs the flavor. Others may disagree but I usually use a Microplane zester grater with blacks, tastier and easier than slicing. My humble…
Thanks, also trust him. I and the family love octopus and have enjoyed it with red wines in general so I can imagine that it could work.
There’s a Croatian way of cooking called Peka, where the octopus (or fish/meat) is grilled together with veggies and potatoes on a metallic dish with an iron lid on top for hours. Terrific flavors and texture. That’s what I’d love to try with old Nebbiolo.
Go with the truffles. Truffles, egg pasta, and plenty of butter is great. You might want to melt the butter in a pot, mix the truffles in, and then immediately mix the pasta in. That way you aren’t cooking the truffles, but you are allowing the flavor to permeate the butter really well. Or risotto. Buy from a trusted vendor, not whoever has the lowest price. Enjoy!
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