Uovo al tegamino con tartufo bianco
Butter-fried eggs with shaved Alba white truffle
The aroma begins after the flame is gone. An egg cooked in butter gives the white truffle the warm, fatty surface it needs, but the truffle itself arrives only at the last second, shaved over an unbroken yolk. For such an expensive ingredient, the method is almost disarmingly plain.
The white truffle of the Langhe is a fresh autumn and winter thing, gathered in the woods and treated with enough respect to avoid cooking it. Its scent recalls earth, garlic, hay, and cheese.
When the yolk breaks, the warm butter carries the shavings through every bite.
Ingredients
- 25 g(about 1 oz)fresh white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico), well brushed clean (see note)
- 25 g(about 2 tbsp)unsalted butter
- 4large eggs, at room temperature
- fine sea salt
Kitchen notes
- Fresh white truffle
- This dish depends on fresh white truffle, conventionally identified around Alba as Tuber magnatum Pico. Buy it during its season from a specialist supplier and use it promptly. White truffle is used raw and shaved at the table; truffle oil, flavored butter, preserved truffle, and black truffle are not substitutes for this preparation.
- No pepper or garnish
- The Langhe combination works because it is spare. Avoid garlic, cheese, herbs, pepper, and elaborate sauces: their aromas compete with the white truffle rather than making it louder.
Method
Ready the truffle and plates
- Brush any soil gently from the truffle with a soft brush just before cooking; do not soak it. Set out two warm plates and a truffle slicer. Once the eggs are in the pan, there will be no time for preparation: white truffle should be shaved only over the finished hot eggs.
Cook the eggs gently in butter
- Melt the butter in a wide nonstick skillet over low heat. When it has melted and begun to foam but has not browned, crack in the eggs, keeping the yolks intact. Cover the pan and cook gently until the whites are fully opaque and just set while the yolks remain soft, usually 2–3 minutes. If the butter begins to color, the heat is too high; lift the pan off the burner briefly rather than letting it brown.
Shave and serve at once
- Slide two eggs and their butter onto each warmed plate and season lightly with salt. Shave the truffle in very thin, even lamellae directly over the eggs while they are still hot. Serve immediately, before the fragrance has a chance to drift away.