Cheers to autumn! Truffle and funghi for everyone!
If summer here in Italy (and anywhere else in the world) is the time for relaxing, vacations and beach, autumn is the season for eating well. Some of the most prestigious products on the menu appear in this time of the year: mushrooms (especially the beloved porcini), grapes, a sea of pumpkins and squashes, chestnuts and some of the most flavorful greens like broccoli, cabbage and so on. However, with no doubt, the king of the autumn is just one: one of the most expensive – and most rare – products that one can have on a table: the truffle (in Italian, tartufo).
Whereas the “black” variety starts to grow already by the end of summer – the so-called “tartufo estivo”, which has a more delicate taste – the white ones, the quintessence of the aroma, reaches its top in October.
In the most fruitful zones, whole towns party to celebrate and taste the product and, of course, local restaurants create special menus for the occasion.
Last Saturday I had the privilege to know one of the most famous restaurants specialized in tartufo (and more) in the surroundings of Bologna, the Trattoria Amerigo, in Savigno (approximately one hour from Bologna).
Before I get into details, I just wanted to say the following: if you come to Emilia Romagna, GO TO AMERIGO. I swear I had one of the greatest gastronomic experiences of my life and I can’t wait to go back.
The restaurant opened in 1943 and, apart from the sublime restaurant, right at the entrance there is a little grocery with sauces and homemade. Behind the main place there is also a mini hotel, where people can stay after a great dinner (with a lot of wine) without having to come back home driving.
Me with a silly face in front of Amerigo’s shop
In the “classic” menu – which I studied for more than ten minutes before choosing – there are traditional dishes and very interesting reinventions, such as the gelato di parmigiano con tigelle e aceto balsamico (i.e. parmigiano ice cream with tigelle – the typical bread from the zone – and balsamic vinegar).
Gelato di parmigiano con tigelle e aceto balsamico
The fascinating thing however is the fact that the dishes are elaborated with very few ingredients – only the best ones – and without unnecessary fireworks; just the essence of the flavor.
Going at this time of the year though is even more magical: there is also the menu “Tartufo bianco naturale” (“Natural White Nartufo”), a little leaflet that offers not only the selection of dishes prepared with this ingredient, but also very interesting explanations:
Menu Tartufo Bianco Naturale 2014
“Tartufo bianco naturale” (“Natural White Nartufo”), a little leaflet that offers not only the selection of dishes prepared with this ingredient, but also very interesting explanations:
“The season 2014 seems to begin very well; for now, the quality is high and the prices are reasonable. We hope that when the cool weather arrives, our favorite “fungus” comes plentiful and, most of all, top quality.
We remind you that in order to strengthen the flavor we do not use (and never will) aromatic oils and butters that always contain artificial fragrances. The delicate taste and inebriating scents of out Tartufo will always be only the natural ones, no tricks added.
The amount of [tartufo] Bianco used is the right one, at least 15g in the primi piatti and 10g in the secondi piatti; approximately the half of it in the appetizers.
Using less than that would make no sense. Neither would make sense to use a mountain…
The white truffle is calculated per table, 2.50 euros per gram and you can taste it in the following dishes: (…)”.
Our chosen ones were: the divine “polentina fluida con olio extravergine, parmigiano e tartufo bianco” (“runny polenta with extravergine olive oil, parmigiano cheese and white truffle”), the infallible and classic “tagliatelle al tartufo bianco”,
Tagliatelle al tartufo
the “filletino di maiale su vellutata di cardo al tartufo bianco” (“little pork fillets with a cream of purple potatoes” – when I ate it the potatoes were substituted with “cardo”, a vegetable similar to the artichoke)
“Filletino di maiale su vellutata di cardo al tartufo bianco”
and a steak with mix of funghi, valeriana (a salad) and, of course, white truffles.
steak with mix of funghi, valeriana and white truffles.
I confess that a meal like that is something that happens very few times in life, especially when it comes to truffles that although very full of aroma, when fresh are not easy to use – the risk is that the flavor becomes almost hard to notice. But not this time. In each dish it was possible to feel the scent (so intense that almost slaps you in the face), the almost crispy texture of the flakes and of course the flavor (delicate but to the right point), which involves every bit of the dish.
Do you think you can handle all that? (Photo: Simone Tortini)
Without mentioning the quality of everything else that was served (particularly the meat, coming directly from one of the most famous butcher shops in the region, the Macelleria Zivieri).
Well, as you could see, it’s not just a restaurant that offers truffles, but also a place that, along with everything else, has also them in the menu.
Or, if you want me to be even more precise: there, not only do you leave satisfied, (smiling like a child and inebriated with the scent of the truffles) but also with the reminiscences of one of the best meals of all times.
sighs…
FloCiBO 