Yesterday I had the pleasure to attend an event at International Culinary Center about truffles with Sabatino Tartufi and Wood and Fire chef Pasquale Abbatiello, who did an amazing truffle risotto, talked about risotto techniques and also told us this story about he won a risotto contest at ICC when he was a student there.

Truffles are mysterious and sexy. We learned about this fairy tale about them:

“An old lady needed help and reached for this man who was peeling potatoes. The lady saw that the man was nice and kind and started to help him peeling the potatoes. As they talked, she discovered a lot of good things about this man. Then she reveled herself as a fairy and grabbed a few potatoes and transformed them into truffles as a reward for his kindly gesture with her. The man had three kids, but they weren’t kind as their father: they were bad and spoiled. Some years later the fairy came back as the old lady again, but this time she wasn’t welcomed for the man’s kids. Because of that she put a spell on them: they were transformed into pigs and she took the potatoes again and buried them under the ground. The pigs were doomed to hunt the truffles for the rest of their lives.”

Truffles have always been revered and date as far back as 1600B.C. These special funghi are known as the "diamonds of the earth". Truffles have this unique flavor and can be paired with a lot of ingredients, They are expensive because they grow wild - truffles are located on the root of certain living trees and have a symbiotic relationship with the trees. If you don't remember the Biology classes, let me clarify that for you: there's mutual beneficial for both parts. The most common trees that form truffles are Oak, Hazelnut and Poplar.

In the demo they also talked about how truffle can infuse eggs, oils, potatoes... If you have this jew on your hands, put it wrapped in dry paper towel and the thing that you want to infuse inside the container with the truffles. That's it.

There are about 200 species of truffles. But just some species are truly admired:

Black Summer Truffle (Tuber Aestivum Vitt)

Skin has a black, rocky outer layer. Flesh rangers from white, off-white, to beige in color. Season: May - September

Black Burgundy (Tuber Uncinatum)

Similar in appearance to Black Summer Truffle, but flesh is slightly darker, more beige in color. Season: September - November

Black Winter Truffle (Tuber Melanosporum)

Dark, rough exterior, but not as coarse as Black Summer. Flesh is black with white marbling. Season: November - March

White Truffle (Tuber Magnatum Pico)

Can also be referred to as Alba truffles. Skin is fragile and smooth. Flesh ranges from pale cream to brown pinkish with white marbling. Season: October - December

By the end of the workshop, we tried the amazing Truffle Risotto made by Chef Pasquale. He just shaved a Black Summer Truffle on a plain risotto base made using onions and butter, then the rice, Pinot Grigio wine and chicken stock. In the end he added a lot of Parmigiano-Reggiano and more butter along with the truffle.

Also we had a dessert: a little toast with Brie cheese and thyme with truffle zest and honey infused with the truffle. A-MA-ZING!