Easy Fresh Black Truffle Pasta Tagliatelle Recipe (2024)

This simple black truffle pasta recipe will make you fully appreciate the earthy taste of the famous black truffle - effectively a wild mushroom. Homemade tagliatelle, butter, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and fresh truffles are all you need to make the most of its oaky, nutty, and world-celebrated flavor. This is an easy fresh pasta dish for special occasions or date nights.

What is a truffle

Truffles are wild mushrooms that grow underground, their taste is very special, and either you love or hate it...I LOVE IT!

The flavor of truffles is hearty and nutty and can be more or less intense, depending on the variety.

There are four different species of truffles:

1. Black truffle: also known as black gold, found from September to April. It is black and wrinkled on the outside and blackish purple inside with a characteristic white grain. The most valuable types are found in Perigord in France, Norcia, and Spoleto in Italy
2. Truffle Aestivum: Summer truffles, a less valuable black truffle, can be found from June to September. Similar to the other black truffle on the outside, the black Summer truffle can be distinguished once open as the inside is light brown. This is the truffle I have used in this recipe.
3. Bianchetto or Mazzola is a white truffle found from January to March. It can be confused with the white truffle, but its flavor is not as refined or valuable. It has a slightly garlicky taste. The color resembles the white truffle but becomes darker when matured.
4. White truffle or Alba is the most refined and expensive truffle. Its price is the same as gold. White truffles from Alba cost between $ 5000 and $ 10 000 per pound, depending on their availability. Found from August until January, they are small and have a silky white, yellowish skin and a very distinctive aromatic flavor.

Ingredients

This truffle mushroom pasta recipe is very simple, made with only four simple ingredients:

• Whole truffle: any of the truffles above
• Fresh tagliatelle: you can use store-bought or homemade tagliatelle. If you want to use dry pasta, you can use spaghetti or linguini. You want a pasta shape that will wrap each bite of truffle
• Butter
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Dry white wine: optional

Hint: if you want a creamy sauce, add some heavy cream. However, if you are using fresh tagliatelle, which are made with fresh eggs, the cream will make the dish too rich. Best to use heavy cream if you use dry pasta like linguine or spaghetti.

Instructions

How to clean a truffle

1. Immerse it in a bowl of lukewarm water and brush off the dirt with a vegetable brush
2. Change the water and rewash a second time until all the dirt is gone

Making the truffle sauce

1. Once cleaned, shred the truffle into thin slices

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan at a medium/low temperature

3. Add the shredded truffle and let it saute in butter for a few minutes

4. Now you can add the white wine if you wish; this is optional

Seasoning the tagliatelle

1. In the meantime, boil the fresh tagliatelle for 3 minutes, and when it is ready, add the drained pasta to the frying pan

2. To make a creamy sauce without cream, you can add 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water

3. Stir well until the pasta is well seasoned with the truffle and the butter

4. Transfer into a serving dish and add the freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Hint: To cook pasta to perfection, you can read the article: How To Cook Pasta Like An Italian

Top tips

• Use the truffle as soon as possible as their flavor diminishes with time once they are picked from underground.
• Use a good quality butter
• The best pasta to use is fresh tagliatelle. Either make it yourself or buy it fresh from a shop
• Use the original Parmigiano Reggiano and grate it freshly over the finished dish.

Why are truffles so expensive?

Truffles are expensive because they cannot be cultivated. Many techniques have been tried and tested but have always given poor results.

Truffles, therefore, can only be found in the wild; because they grow underground next to tree roots, they are challenging to find.

Searching for truffles is a very specialized skill, requires extensive training, and is a considerable investment.

Some special dog breeds with an acute sense of smell are trained to sniff and detect truffles from a distance. Only expert truffle hunters succeed in their quest to find them.

Other black truffle recipes

Because you want to preserve and enhance their flavor, truffles should be served with ingredients that will not overpower their taste. Their best companions are:

• Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, you can also use different types of cheese, the best are mild flavored cheese like Taleggio or Brie
• Butter
• Eggs
• Pasta
• Potatoes
• Gnocchi
• Rice

You can store your truffle in rice, salt, or oil, and they will release their flavor into whatever they are stored in.

However, do not store them this way for over a few days, as they will become tasteless with time.

Usually, I cook truffles at low/medium heat with butter to release their flavor.

I always add some freshly shredded raw truffles to the final dish.

Alternative to fresh truffle

You don't have to spend a fortune to buy black or white truffles.

Many other alternatives exist, such as the less expensive and still delicious Summer black truffles.

You can also find black truffle oil, white truffle oil, truffle-infused salt, black truffle butter, truffle paste or truffle cheese.

However, they may use a synthetic truffle flavor that is not the real deal.

It is, therefore, crucial to read the labels and buy only a proper brand.

I like the Valnerina tartufi , and I want to specify that I have not been sponsored nor offered products to mention their brand.

It is a small producer based in Umbria, an Italian region renowned for its truffles.

Depending on your chosen mix, their jars can go from € 12 to € 29.

Wherever you live, you might find different brands of truffle paste, and I recommend buying a small jar and trying it.

I have often been disappointed, so don't take it for granted.

And if you have a brand you tried and liked, please leave a comment below so we can all share our knowledge and experience.

If you want to see how I use the truffle cream, look up the recipe: A Special Gnocchi Sauce

More recipes with wild mushrooms

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