In honour of moving into my new home, I decided to cook a special first meal. Actually I found some black truffle sitting in the pantry during the move and realised I had to use them, so what better way to celebrate than chopping it up into some pasta and enjoying it with a glass of prosecco?
Lavender might seem like an odd ingredient but it really adds to the recipe. I have a supply of it because years ago in an old house there was a lavender plant that was growing out of control, trimmed it and for some odd reason decided to dry out the cuttings… A good quantity was used in a lavender cake, that turned out really well but there was enough lavender to make about 20 cakes and as much as I liked the lavender cake, 20 of them was more than enough to last me a life time. So the excess dried lavender has been sitting in an air tight container for a year or two until I recently stumbled upon a recipe involving black truffle and lavender. So I thought I would put the combination to the test and as it turns out it is a really good one! The trick is not to put too much lavender in, it’s quite strong in flavour and you don’t want everything to taste like a bouquet of flowers, so a little goes a long way and you want it to be a subtle flavour. I would encourage you to go hunt some down, grow a lavender plant in your garden or get some from a friend, alternatively you might be able to buy it in some health food shop but as lavender grows like a weed in the UK it seems like a bit of a waste to have to buy it.
Ingredients (serves 2):
1 Large Black Truffle
1/2 tsp Lavender
30g Dried Porcini Mushrooms
300g Fettuccine or Tagliatelle
300ml Double Cream
100ml White Wine (dry)
25g Unsalted Butter
1 clove garlic (minced)
Watercress and/or Rocket as a side salad
Pecorino (for garnish)
Method:
- Cut the tuffle into 3 equal parts, take 1 part and mince it, then mix it into the cream and leave in the fridge over night.
- Hydrate the porcini mushrooms according to packet instructions, reserving the water for later. Chop the porcini mushrooms into equal sizes.
- In a large saucepan or saute pan, melt the butter then add the minced garlic and fry until slightly golden, then add in the porcini mushrooms.
- Add the white wine and mushroom water then reduce by half, finally add in the truffle cream from the fridge and allow it to simmer and thicken.
- While the sauce is thickening, cook the pasta until it is al dente then drain and add to the sauce.
- Add the lavender with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.
- Remove the pan from the heat and then add in slices of the remaining black truffle
- Dish out the pasta with your side salad and then dust with grated Pecorino
- Serve with a nice glass of prosecco!
Tips:
- The sauce only needs a gentle heat to bring to a simmer, don’t let the cream boil.