Turns out we are all the same. A carbon frame of some 200 bones surrounded by protein, lipids, carbohydrates and water. There's really no difference if you are male or female, black or white, vegetarian or paleo, whether you are rich or, well, car-less. Joe Hockey, as crazy as this may seem, is just like the rest of us under his hide as the Treasurer.
I'm not here to debate this only I reckon if you were, given it's science week, to extract, precipitate, homogenise, centrifuge, purify and whack into a HPLC a sample of local diners at this, the later stage of the festival of the truffle, I wouldn't be surprised to find off the chart concentrations of tuber melanosporum, sitting somewhere between protein and fats.
You can't seem to pass a food outlet without their next truffle event on offer. And isn't this a fantastic thing? The truffle has woven its web into every possible culinary corner. I was invited to a dinner at a fairly exclusive and hidden club recently. I'm not allowed to use the name as they will hunt me down like Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut. Lo and behold, the pretty decent wine degustation dinner had a truffle wedge, a risotto that was as fine a rice or truffle dish as I've had. Simple and perfectly cooked.
Actually I have some history in this club. My soon-to-be bride's parents used to take me here to try to intimidate me. They were probably getting a tad concerned that their daughter was marrying the mechanic. So we all reek of truffles and it's a great thing. I couldn't be more impressed than if I opened the gullet of my goose and found a kilo of pale, buttery foie gras.
Why would I do this? Well when I wake each morning I head outside and do vaguely farmer-like things - I stretch, stare, scratch and comment on the weather, "Geez, frosty lately" - and have to battle two very aggressive male geese. After drowning the only female goose during last year's heady mating season, things were looking pretty grim for those two pathetic boys. However a kind lady, Ceri, rescued their future and gave me some female geese plus two huge eggs to cook with.
I've been counting these frosts firm in the knowledge that each is having a dramatic effect on the last of the winter's truffles, making these orbs denser and more intense with each sub-zero start. So I reach out to my friends out Braidwood way and it's confirmed that, yes, the truffles are magnificent, just getting a tad hard to find, come on out.
Every year there's more to learn about these units. Such a complex job they do in their interactions with the plants they grow with, the climate and the soil. And then there's the equally complex way they attract animals. As Peter Marshall remarks, it's not enough to just attract an animal with heady aromas, there needs to be a reward in the taste. Humans being intrepid souls have divided the jobs - a dog finds the truffle, we get the reward the next morning on scrambled eggs, the dog gets a pat.
There is plenty of evidence that truffles also have many health benefits like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. There are few foods out there that taste good and are good for you. Hear what I'm saying, pork fat and spirulina? So now I have a package of truffles in the car, I turn up the beats and have a good hour and a half to work out what to do with them.
High on my list is a dish that is simple yet indulgent: As a late lunch I'll have a truffle toastie, plain white bread cut thick, butter, gruyere and lashings of shaved truffle. Sure this wouldn't carry a truffle degustation but more's the pity. As my main-use plan firms, the mellow southern vocals of Jason Isbell on his 2013 album Southeastern fade from Soundcloud. What about a simple gnocchi, soft pillows of gossamer potato fortified with goose egg and truffle. Yes, I say to no one in particular, I just need some quality parmesan, a good size sebago spud and a little time. A pearl of wisdom Antonio Carluccio left from his recent visit was to use a little chestnut flour in the mix.
Truffled gnocchi with chestnut flour and brown butter
1 cup all-purpose organic flour, plus extra
⅓ cup chestnut flour (See note)
1 goose egg (or 2 large hen's eggs)
400g potato
1 cup milk
20-30g black truffle, cleaned
Salt and pepper
60g butter
½ cup grated Parmesan
Carefully peel the truffle, place the trimmings in a pot with milk, bring to a simmer and cook the potato until soft but not falling apart. In the meantime, beat the eggs and grate with a microplane three quarters of the truffle, set aside while the spud cooks.
Make a ring with the plain flour and into centre add chestnut flour, make a well in this. Using a potato ricer, crush the cooked potatoes into this, make another well in the potato and add truffled eggs, salt and pepper.
Mix the ingredients from the inside to the outer rim, add extra flour if the dough is too wet. Knead very gently until you have a very soft, smoothish dough. Flatten out and cut into 1cm wide and thick snakes.
Cut these into 2cm lengths, roll in extra flour, make a depression in each with fork tines and keep covered until ready to serve.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add gnocchi a few at a time keeping the rolling boil going. On the side have the butter melted and over low heat cook until it just turns that nut brown colour. Toss the cooked gnocchi in this, sprinkle with Parmesan and extra grated truffle.
Note: Can't find chestnut flour? Make your own: roast the chestnuts, peel and dehydrate in cool oven, grind to a powder.
