From Truffles - diamonds in the rough
Tajarin with Fresh White Truffle
by Katherine Alford in Caviar, Truffles & Foie Gras

Tajarin are the unforgettable fresh egg-yolk-rich noodles of the Piedmont region of Italy, the heart of white truffle country. The noodles, which are almost saffron yellow due to the farmhouse yolks, are the customary accompaniment to fresh white truffles. There is a culinary bravura to recipes for tajarin, which can max out with up to 40 egg yolks per kilo of flour. Making handmade noodles is definitely a commitment, but when you are slicing fresh white truffles, it is worth the effort.

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more salt to taste
4 large eggs at room temperature
8 large egg yolks at room temperature
Fine cornmeal for dusting
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
1 cup chicken stock
2 to 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 ounces fresh white truffle
Mound the flour and the 2 teaspoons salt on a clean work space and make a well in the center. Crack the whole eggs into the well and add the egg yolks. Break up the eggs and yolks with a fork and gradually combine them with the flour by stirring bits of flour into the well with the fork. Use your other hand to move the flour around to keep the eggs from running out of the flour. (It is like moving the walls of a sand castle to keep the water inside.) Keep mixing the flour into the eggs until all the eggs have been absorbed and you have a rough dough. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour at room temperature. Do not refrigerate the dough, or it will become wet and pasty.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces and cover with a towel. Flatten a piece of the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle that will fit through the widest setting of a pasta machine. Feed the dough through the machine, then fold the flattened dough like a business letter. Pass the folded dough through the machine again. Repeat this process until the dough is satiny smooth, 3-4 times. Close the machine's rollers down by 1 notch and feed the dough through the machine. Repeat this at each setting down to the next-to-last setting. To prevent the dough from scrunching up in the rollers, pull lightly on the part of the dough feeding into the rollers to keep an even tension. (If the dough gets too long to pass through easily, cut the piece in half.)

Lay the sheet of pasta out to dry on a large towel or tablecloth. Repeat this procedure with the rest of the dough. Let the dough dry slightly until it is not tacky but is still pliable, about 20 minutes. (If the dough gets too dry, it will not cut properly.)

Cut the dough into foot-long pieces and pass the sheets through the tagliatelle cutters of the pasta machine. Dust the pasta with cornmeal and twist it into nests. Set on a rack to dry for up at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.When ready to serve, bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it liberally. Add the pasta and stir to prevent clumps. Cook at a rapid boil until the pasta is al dente, 2-5 minutes, depending on how long the pasta has been drying.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or large skillet, whisk 6 tablespoons of the butter with the chicken stock over low heat. Drain the pasta and toss in the pan with the remaining 6 tablespoons butter and the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the pasta among 6 to 8 warmed shallow bowls. Serve immediately. Shave paper-thin slices of truffles over the pasta at the table.

Serves 6 to 8

Article first published in The Wine News

 

Food Editor Carole Kotkin is a Miami-based cooking instructor and consultant who co-authored Mmmmiami - Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere. It provides clear, simple directions for 150 dishes, from the simple (good old Key Lime Pie) to the sublime (Coconut Mahi-Mahi with Passion Fruit Sauce). The wide array of flavors is especially wonderful and startling to those used to monocultural cooking; Miami cuisine is the product of many generations of interbreeding and hybrid vigor. Click on the link below for more details or to order.

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