I recently bought a white truffle. A small white truffle. I had finished a spectacular meal, in an exceptional restaurant in Vienna and the restaurateur was showing off his latest fragrant horde. So I bought one. Such was the euphoria that engulfed me after 3 beers, a cocktail, a bottle of chenin blanc and 4 courses of exquisite food. Mind you my wife was egging me on.
(Talking of which the chap told me to put the truffle in a Tupperware with some eggs in order to infuse them with the flavour, Hadn’t heard of that).
It was supposed to be a quiet romantic evening with my lovely wife - of whom I have not seen a great deal in the last 2 months thanks to HM’s immigration / Visa policies - but, in keeping with the best unplanned nights out, it ended up being an altogether more social affair. We shared a bottle of Tomac with the afore-mentioned truffle peddler and the couple from the neighbouring table, who turned out to be the restaurant's Greek supplier of olive oil and his Austrian partner.
Does anyone have a spare truffle shaver?
Strangely I didn't get much sympathy from family or friends when I complained at the difficulty of getting hold of a truffle shaver at short notice. One kitchen shop took an inordinately long time looking for one as I waited on the line. In truth I imagine they were all having a good laugh at me.
In the end I should be grateful no shop was able to furnish me with an item I would probably never use again. With a mixture of extreme delicacy and a mini-grater (sharpened a little for the purpose) I embellished my tagliatelle, risotto and scrambled eggs with this stinky delight.
I will probably never buy a truffle again. The price, whilst reasonable in the context of the white truffle market, is faintly ridiculous but I am glad I did. Mi sono tolto uno sfizio as a real truffle aficionado might say.