In Italy's Umbria region, most people relish a good meat dish. Pork and wild boar are central, and sometimes the only, stars of a hearty Umbrian menu. But pork isn't the region's only specialty.
Umbria is one of Italy's leading producers of the prized black truffle, an earthy, aromatic fungus celebrated the world over. The traditional way of hunting truffles, with dogs and plenty of digging through mountainous terrain, can be hard to keep up.
Carlo Caporicci found a way to turn truffle hunting into truffle farming on his family estate, San Pietro a Pettine. Using a method that takes more than five years to complete, Caporicci grows black truffles that he says are identical to their wild counterparts. His daughter, Alissa Caporicci, weaves the family's harvest into the dishes at the estate's restaurant, La Cucina.
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The "Essence of the Forest" pasta, also known as Assoluto di Bosco, was served to Stanley Tucci when he visited the family farm while exploring Umbria on "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy." The dish brings together the wonderful flavors of beetroot, porcini mushrooms, and black garlic to create a mouthwatering sauce that complements, without overshadowing, the star of the show: a generous helping of truffles.
"A fitting finale," Tucci concluded as he savored the dish, "to Carlo, Alissa, the future of the truffle, and perhaps the future of Umbrian cuisine."
Assoluto di Bosco
("Essence of the Forest" pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffle)
Serves 4
You can buy black garlic at specialty shops or online. Alternatively, make your own by placing a whole fresh head of garlic in a slow cooker on the warm setting (not low) for 2 to 3 weeks. It has a milder, sweeter flavor than raw garlic. Store any leftover cloves in an airtight container.
The prized black truffles from the Umbrian town of Norcia can be found online and at select specialty Italian shops.
Ingredients
Mushroom broth
2 cups | 500 grams dried porcini mushrooms
1 ¼ cups | 300 grams fresh porcini mushroom stems
¾ cup | 200 grams fresh black truffle from Norcia
Beetroot mousse
3 ½ tablespoons | 50 grams unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
4 pre-cooked red beets, peeled and chopped
¼ cup | 60 grams white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Black garlic breadcrumbs
2 cloves black garlic
3 ½ tablespoons | 50 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying if needed
2 3/4 cups | 300 grams breadcrumbs
A splash of white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pasta dressing
1 ¼ pounds | 600 grams spaghettoni
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon | 70 grams extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon | 5 grams salt, plus more for the pan
¼ cup | 30 grams fresh black truffle from Norcia, sliced, plus ½ cup (70 grams) for freshly grated shavings
100 grams fresh porcini mushrooms, cut into ¼-inch (½-centimeter) pieces
3 ½ tablespoons | 50 grams unsalted butter
3.4 ounces | 100 milliliters white wine to soften the sauce
Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Equipment
Immersion blender
1. Make the mushroom broth: Pour 4 cups (1 liter) of water into a pot and add the dried and fresh porcini mushrooms. Add the fresh truffle. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain.
2. Make the beetroot mousse: Melt the butter in a pan and gently sauté the shallots over low heat. Add the beets and deglaze the pan with white wine vinegar so the caramelized shallot bits lift off the bottom. Season with salt and pepper and blend the beets with an immersion blender until creamy.
3. Make the black garlic breadcrumbs: In a separate pan over low heat, sauté the black garlic with 3 ½ tablespoons (50 milliliters) of oil. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring constantly and adding more oil if they aren't moist enough, to keep them from burning, for about 10 minutes. Once the breadcrumbs are toasted, remove from the heat. Then add a splash of vinegar, salt, and pepper.
4. Make the pasta and dressing: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a small bowl, combine the ¼ cup (30 grams) of truffle with the oil, garlic, and 1 teaspoon (5 grams) of salt. Clean the porcini mushrooms and cut them into fairly thick ¼-inch (½-centimeter) slices.
Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat until golden and sauté the porcini mushrooms until browned and tender, about 4 minutes. Then season with salt and soften with wine. Let the alcohol cook off before adding the broth. Add the ¼ cup (30 grams) of truffle-oil mixture and let the liquid in the pan reduce by a third. You'll need the remaining liquid to finish cooking the pasta.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions, being careful to drain it 2 minutes before the required time. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the sautéed mushrooms over medium-low heat and finish cooking it with a few ladles of mushroom broth.
5. Serve the dish: Divide the beetroot mousse among 4 deep plates, spreading 3 tablespoons of the mousse across the bottom of each. Top first with the pasta, then the mushrooms from the pan. Finish with a portion of the black garlic breadcrumbs. Divide the ½ cup (70 grams) of freshly grated truffle shavings among the 4 plates, then garnish with the chopped parsley.
This recipe is provided by Alissa Caporicci of La Cucina in San Pietro a Pettine, Italy.
