So one of the very first recipes in my To Try file (the OG version, in an actual filing cabinet on actual paper), was a French fish dish. Not terribly chef-y EXCEPT for the fact it called for fresh white summer truffles. Yeah…. So, it sat in the old To Try file, and then migrated to the new Try file in Paprika, then sat there on the list unmolested through 2 years of Experimental Supper Club because I just could not figure out a reasonable way to get fresh white truffles.
After I took my Mycology course in the Sierras and went to SOMA camp, I started to toy with the idea of hunting the truffles myself. Some obvious problems immediately presented themselves—namely that edible American truffles only grow in any quantity in a few spots, the closest of which to me was Oregon, I didn’t have a truffle dog (nor the 1,000 years required to find a truffle without a truffle dog), and you can’t hunt them on public land. So, basically, I needed to hire a guide with a dog.
Which I did last month when I visited my friend Michael in Portland for his birthday and dragged him and his partner Tony along for a guided truffle hunt in the Willamette Valley—all so I could make this ONE recipe in my Try file. As should be plain by this point, I am nothing if not dedicated to ESC victory.
We had a blast with Ava and Joey, her prize-winning truffle dog. Half the fun is cheerfully body-checking Joey out of the way before she eats the truffles she’s found for you because dogs love truffles as much or more than we do. But our group came up with quite a nice haul the span of a rainy, blustery hour, and we enjoyed some of the truffles shaved over our carbonara at a lovely lunch at Alloro Vineyards before divvying the rest up for transport.
Truffles are amazing. Everytime we opened the fridge for the next couple of days at Michael’s house, the entire kitchen smelled of truffles for at least an hour (you have to keep them in a container that’s a bit cracked open so some air can circulate, and really you should consume them within 2-ish days or put them in oil; they degrade really quickly). We shaved some on some Georgian khachapuri and carefully packed the rest for me to fly home with for ESC.
Once home, I transferred the truffles to a bed of Arborio rice to keep them alive in the fridge until the weekend (and perfume the rice for risotto later); I also chopped up a few of the small ones to infuse olive oil. Then, for ESC, I used the oil and slivered truffles to make the recipe (see below).
Technically, I don’t think I had any summer truffles in the batch, but Oregon truffles are signficantly lighter and more floral than Tuscan black truffles, so they’re close in spirit to a summer truffle. Here’s the recipe since you can’t find it online:
Dorade Coriphène sur une Aubergine Confite, Crème de Coco, et Truffes Blanches d’Été
INGREDIENTS
For the Cream:
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil
2/3 C finely diced yellow onion
4 T finely diced carrot
8 oz. coco or other dried small white beans, soaked overnight
2 fresh bay leaf
1 C dry white wine
salt and freshly ground white muntok and black Sarawak pepper
2 T white truffle oil
2 t finely chopped fresh rosemary
For the eggplant
10 T extra virgin olive oil
4 small Italian or Japanese eggplants, trimmed and halved lengthwise
2 fresh bay leaf, torn into pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
For the fish:
6 T extra virgin olive oil
8 3 ½ oz. skinless, boneless mahimahi steaks or filets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 small summer truffle, cut into matchsticks
extra virgin olive oil
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
DIRECTIONS
For the cream: Heat half the oil in a medium saucepan over MED heat. Add onions and carrots and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain beans and add to pan. Add bay leaf, wine, and 2 C water and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to MED-LOW and cook until beans are soft, 1-4 hours depending on freshness of beans. Discard bay leaf. Transfer beans and cooking liquid to a blender and purée until mixture has the consistency of a smooth, thick sauce, thinning it with up to ½ C hot water, if necessary. Return bean mixture to pan, add salt and pepper to taste, and whisk in truffle oil, remaining olive oil, and rosemary. Cover and keep warm over lowest heat.
For the eggplant: Heat oil in a heavy pot over MED heat. Lightly score cut side of eggplants and put into pot cut side down. Add bay leaf pieces, generously season with salt and pepper, and cook until deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Turn eggplants over and season with more salt and pepper. Reduce heat to MED-LOW, cover pot, and cook until very soft, about 30 minutes. Drain eggplants on paper towels, discarding bay leaves; set aside.
For the fish: Heat a large skillet over MED-HIGH heat. Add oil, and sauté fish, turning once, until just cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Generously season with salt and pepper.
Divide bean cream between 4 plates. Put 1 piece of eggplant on each plate and rest 1 piece of fish against eggplant. Top cream with truffles, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with rosemary. NOTE: Start beans overnight and cook 1-4 hours before cooking the rest of the dish.
And if you’re wondering, it was fantastic: not that difficult to make, once you’ve got the truffles, a very satisfying mélange of briny and earthy flavors and textures. Totally worth the wait and effort. I kept the rest of the menu pretty simple to showcase the main course, but the pear galette was a hit as well:
- Pamplemousse cocktail
- Mini salmon quiches (any salmon quiche recipe works—I think I got mine from a tourist flyer in Sitka on an Alaskan cruise)
- Frisée salad with vinaigrette (again, any recipe)
- Pear Galette with Vanilla
The Rookery 