Things I Heart: Black Truffle Oil

I fell in love with truffles in France last year.  I'd never tried them before and I'm not really sure why that is.  I think truffles and I had simply never crossed paths.  Maybe it's an American thing.

The Foodie knows I ate my weight in truffles in Paris (I also ate my weight in ice cream and baguettes.  This explains a lot of things).  Because he is a sweetheart, The Foodie gave me a bottle of infused black truffle oil a few months ago.  I've been keeping it in my refrigerator and doling it out as sparingly as Scrooge McDuck hands out money.  Actually, the flavor is really strong and a little goes a long way.

In general, I like to use truffle oil with foods that already have an earthiness to them like lentils and potatoes; however, my friend the Rock&Roll Singer (not to be confused with the Rock&Roll Drummer -- try to keep up) swears by truffle oil on popcorn.  I think I'll have to give that a try soon.  You never know.

Rigatoni with Truffle Creme

I actually had this dish twice while I was in France. I loved it so much when I had it on our first night in Paris at Cafe du Marche that I ordered it again at a cafe at Versailles. It was delicious, it was cheap (all things considered), and it was vegetarian.


Here's the thing: I'm not much of a meat eater. I never have been, much to the chagrin of my large, meat-loving Portuguese family. I will try virtually any vegetable, fruit, or grain; with meat and seafood, I am more wary. I quickly discovered in Paris that even when I got a piece of meat I could readily identify, it was much fattier than I liked. (Yes, I know that fat equals flavor. I've heard it all before. Animal fat, unless it is in the form of crispy strips of bacon, gives me the heeby-jeebies.)


The sauce was lightly dotted with grated bits of truffle and the flavor infused the whole dish. It was incredibly savory, simple, and satisfying. Not to mention that I spent about 14 American dollars on the meal -- expensive for pasta, but cheap when you consider that truffles cost anywhere from $250 to more than $1000 a pound.