Hunting for Truffle

 

Most who know me well know that I am a Minnesota girl at heart.  I am proud of where I am from for reasons which have been previously mentioned, but mostly for the fact that Minnesota is beautiful and full of the God-given gifts of wildlife, wild foods, and the forest.  Is that convincing enough?

I've been talking a lot about what I love most about the Land of 10,000 Lakes to many of my classmates, who are probably getting sick of it by now.  "Please come visit, I know you'll love it!' is my usual request.  One of the main things I rattle on about is the ways in which we can procure food in Minnesota.  I love that I can go into the "wild" and collect berries and mushrooms, we can cultivate wild rice and maple syrup, and that we can hunt and fish to stock up for the year.

Now I know that this is, in fact, feasible in all parts of the world and that Minnesota isn't particularly unique, but I believe I appreciate this fact having grown up and being a part of the use of the land in this way.  An example of this procurement in Piemonte, Italy?  Truffle hunting.  I am not only fortunate enough to live in this region of Italy, but I got to participate in the hunting (gathering?) of this high-esteemed mushroom of sorts.  A quick warning, though, this is not the typical mushroom hunt.  It's not like in Minnesota when you are riding (rollerblading) on the bike trail, see some mushrooms on the side of the path, and pick them up for later cooking and consumption.  Oh no, this is serious stuff.

Stefano was our guide.  Not as integral to our guide was his cute little dog Kira.  We met him just outside of the small town of Alba, where we trekked through the woods in search of the famous fungi.  Apparently one can obtain the white truffles (of which we found two) for a steep price of no less than 3000 euro per kilo.  Yes, you read that right!  I love a frugal find, and the fact that I could find an expensive and glorified delicacy in the woods was right up my alley (or wooded path in this case).  The taste: nothing compares; it is earthy and meaty in the expected mushroom kind-of way, but somehow more unique.  We whipped up dishes from pumpkin soup to risotto to eggs with added distinct truffle aroma.  It is the best addition for a truly rare flavor.  One of my friends suggested slicing it between butter, leaving it for a day, then using the butter for whatever your fancy--Yumm.






The fact that I love mushrooms in Minnesota (both the hunting and the eating) should not come as a  surprise that I came to live in the land of the famed truffle in Italy -- my senses suitably led me.  But, alas, my senses will also lead me back home to Minnesota the Beautiful where I will again hunt for the morel, the chanterelle, and the bolete.  

Salute!

To add a little to this description of the truffle hunt, I will add this video done by my classmate Catherine Desforges of our day out in the Piemonte woods.  Thank you, my friend, for this.  It was perfectly captured.  Enjoy:

Thank you, also, to Kerstin Bergmann and Rose Colon for the pictures!