How to use truffles at home

19 Dec 2023

Journalist

Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti explains how to best use, combine and preserve the prized seasonal ingredient

Precious, fragrant and refined, the truffle is a valuable ingredient, but how do you use them at home? We asked chef Michelangelo Mammoliti, who has been directing the two-Michelin-starred La Rei Natura restaurant for four months, inside the Boscareto Resort & Spa, a five-star luxury hotel in Serralunga d'Alba, in the heart of the Langhe in Piedmont, Italy – the homeland of the white Alba truffle DOP. Previously he was at two-starred Madernassa di Guarene.

In his new gourmet home, Mammoliti, thanks to a 200-square metre vegetable garden and greenhouse, has more than 120 varieties of tomatoes, almost 20 types of chillies, around 200 aromatic herbs and flowers, a myriad of green beans and beets and, of course, the truffles that the local ‘trifolao’ bring fresh regularly.

“I like using truffles and I don't set limits for myself: everything that is in season can be combined without any problem. The truffle is a great ingredient, a local ingredient par excellence together with hazelnuts: an element of the territory, which I describe through my cuisine," he explains. Find out how to use truffles at home with these tips from Mammoliti.

Use cold truffles on hot dishes

“The first piece of advice is to always use truffles on hot dishes and never cold ones, because it is an ingredient that needs heat to release its aroma,” explains Mammoliti. “The aromas are perceived when hot and the flavours are not perceived well when cold: if you put the truffle on a cold dish, you will not perceive any volatile element. On the other hand, the truffle must be very cold, just taken out of the refrigerator."

For example, to best serve truffle on a classic tartare or meat platter, the chef reveals a trick: "At home you can serve the ground meat at room temperature together with a hot sauce: from Piedmontese bagna cauda, based on anchovies, oil and garlic, to the classic fondue. The important thing is that there are notes that recall the garlic part of the truffle: black truffle can also be grated on top”.

Always choose seasonal truffles

Each season has its own truffle. “The suggestion I give is to always choose seasonal truffles, and never before November,” says the chef. “If it has been hot, the season starts from mid-November onwards, until January. The best truffles are found in January, after the first frosts have occurred: it's a bit like cabbage, which becomes tastier when it gets cold.”

Combine truffle with the right ingredients

In addition to beef tartare, another classic pairing is with eggs, but the chef places no limits on his imagination and pairings: “Truffles work just as well with fish, such as scallops or turbot, as well as with game. But it is also perfect with vegetables such as artichoke thistle (cardi),” he explains. “Among the vegetarian proposals, I prepare a sort of celeriac, which translates into a mille-feuille of celeriac alternating with black truffle, with Losa cheese fondue with white truffle: everything is assembled in a pan and breaded, to resemble a melted, stringy mozzarella known as en carrozza. Once cooked, it is cut and opened. I serve it with fermented celeriac sorbet”.

But truffles also go well with puree. “I use it in Joel, which is a dish dedicated to Joël Robuchon, a fondant of potatoes cooked in the extraction of roast chicken, soft-boiled sauce, confit yolk," he specifies.

Let’s not forget another classic combination: truffle and pasta. An example, Canto Piedmontese, a Mammoliti dish based on dumpling-type ravioli stuffed with cuts of boiled meat (cotechino, shin, tongue, hen, tail, scaramella) and served with a Piedmontese bolitto dashi, prepared with a siphon in the dining room with boiled broth, katsuobushi, dehydrated champignon mushrooms and kombu seaweed.

Recognise the differences: white vs black truffle

More refined and delicate, white truffles must strictly be used raw. The most prized variety? Pico, from Alba. Black truffles, also called Périgord, from the French region where they originate, are the second most prized variety after the white one. They can also be cooked, but the advice is never to exceed 40°C. An alternative use of white truffle? “Unlike what is commonly believed, white truffles do not only go on meat or eggs,” explains Mammoliti. “For example, it is perfect on desserts. I pair it with an 83% chocolate soufflé, served with white truffle ice cream and white truffle flakes. At home, you can combine it with classic chocolate cake, with a simple grating."

The black truffle is more versatile, says Mammoliti. “I use black a lot because it has a more versatile aroma in the kitchen, more earthy, closer to mushroom, and people also appreciate it more because not all palates love the characteristics of the white truffle and the scent it releases. The so-called ‘precious black’ has important properties even when raw, but when cooked, it releases its aromas better.”

Use truffles to flavour proteins and fats

Very fragrant, the truffle releases many volatile particles: this is why it can be used to flavour other ingredients in the kitchen. “It easily binds to proteins and animal fats, which absorb all its aromas,” explains Mammoliti. A kitchen trick? “You can make a butter flavoured with white truffle, a milk emulsion, a cheese fondue: the important thing is that there are fatty parts that help convey the truffle flavour. A quick and easy way to flavour eggs, butter, milk, cream (and everything fat) at home? Just keep the ingredients in the same box as the truffle for two or three days," explains the chef.

Learn how to store truffles correctly

How should we store truffles? The method changes depending on whether the truffle is white or black. “Conservation must be done in cotton cloths, changed often. I have a steel box lined with wood, because the wood preserves the right humidity and does not cause the truffle to lose too much weight," says the chef.

“At home, truffles can be preserved in a glass jar, or in rice, but it is not ideal: that's why I found this box technique, which is a tailor-made solution,” he continues. “The white truffle should not actually be preserved: it should be bought and eaten immediately. As regards the black truffle, however, there are more conservation techniques: you can keep it in the same soil from which it was dug out, or in kitchen paper, in the refrigerator, or in an airtight glass container. The wood that I use for my boxes is chestnut or olive tree (the truffles can be kept in there for up to a week, always in the refrigerator),” adds Mammoliti.

When is the right time to use truffles? “The fresher it is, the longer the truffle lasts, but we must not forget that it has its own maturation phase: for example, a truffle unearthed the night before will need a couple of days to be good and release its aromas to the fullest,” says Mammoliti. “The advice is to wait a day or a day and a half before using it."

Recipe for Italian pho by Michelangelo Mammoliti

Chef Mammoliti offers Italian-style pho, a forest-scented reinterpretation of the classic Vietnamese soup based on meat broth.

Serves 4

For the pasta

750g Petra 7220 Gran Pasta flour
550g egg yolk
30g extra virgin olive oil
10g salt

Mix all the ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Knead until a smooth and homogeneous consistency is obtained. Roll out to 5mm thickness in a pasta maker, cut to 30cm in length and pass through the die to obtain the tagliolini form. Allow to dry.

For the sage glaze

40g sweet butter
100g chicken broth
Sage, salt, pepper to taste

Reduce the broth by half. Add the sage. Filter. Add the butter, salt and pepper.

For the truffle butter

250g butter
100g white truffle
3g salt

Blend all the ingredients to obtain a smooth mixture.

For the chicken consommé

1 chicken
4l microfiltered water
1 white onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
20g nori

Clean the chicken. Simmer it in a pan with water. Remove impurities with the help of a slotted spoon. Add the vegetables and cook for 2 hours. Strain. Reserve the chicken fat aside. Salt and infuse the seaweed. Strain and serve separately.

For the whipped butter

250g mountain butter
2.5g salt

Whip in a stand mixer with a whisk and serve separately.

To finish

Sage powder to taste

Cook the pasta in salted water and finish cooking in the sage glaze. Serve the pasta in a deep dish and add the sage powder. Serve separately with a spoonful of melted truffle butter, whipped butter and chicken consommé.