Our motto is always be prepared.  For white truffle season, that is, which begins at any moment.  Because we love you, we have the truffle dealer (yes, they deliver to your doorstep) and the recipe for truffle pasta. Yes, truffles go great on potatoes, rice and even burrata.  But there’s nothing like a classic tajarin. You need this tajarin with white truffle pasta recipe now.

Everyday You can be Trufflin’

Liv and Cornelius Robinson are the power couple behind Trufflin’.  They are a couple passionate about food and France, where Liv hails from.  And she happens to have a truffle dog, so talk about fate.  They started supplying truffles to the best restaurants in New York City.  Today, they have a food empire with everything truffle (honey, hot sauce, ranch dressing) along with caviar too.  So they’re living the dream, with their new son in the South of France.  Since NYC is their roots, they have a team ready to deliver truffles year round.  Winter, summer truffles – literally truffles anytime. Check out our Truffles 101 video, to learn the difference between a black and white truffle.   This fall though, is when the white truffles from Alba come into season.  And they will bring them right to your door, with some of the best prices in the city.

Now, Pasta 

Yes, many of you are heroes and make your own pasta from scratch.  But even with how much I cook, when someone makes it better than I can, I run with it.  This is the case with Eataly, as they have the best fresh pasta around.  I like to pair truffles Piedmont-style (the region of Italy where truffles come from) with a tajarin pasta.  Tajarin is an egg-based pasta that’s thinner than spaghetti, thicker than angle hair, and the perfect size to soak up butter, cheese and truffles.  You can buy it dry or my preference, which is fresh from Eataly.

I’m also taking this a step further, and this is Eataly’s recipe for the classic tajarin with white truffle pasta.  You can go down the rabbit hole of making the fresh pasta.  Or, you can buy the tajarin from Eataly; choose your adventure.  Under the latter, this white truffle pasta recipe is simple.  Anyone who can boil water, can create the best white truffle pasta recipe around.

Tajarin al Tartufo
(Truffle Pasta)    

Recipe courtesy of Langhe Roero

Yield: 8 servings

FOR THE PASTA DOUGH:

1 kg all-purpose flour
9 whole eggs
1 yolk
extra virgin olive oil, as needed
salt, as needed
cornmeal flour, as needed

FOR THE SAUCE:

4 tbsp butter
Fresh white truffles

Directions 

For Fresh Pasta

On a large, clean work surface, add flour and form a well with your fingers. Add salt, eggs, and a few drops of oil to the middle of the well. Using your fingertips, gently mix together until a compact dough begins to the form. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Form dough into small bread roll sized pieces. Cover in plastic wrap and leave to rest at room temperature for at least an hour.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the pieces of dough into thin, flat rectangles. Leave to rest for a few minutes.

Alternatively, you can roll out dough using a hand-cranked pasta machine. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Keeping the dough lightly floured, roll each piece through a pasta machine at progressively narrower settings into sheets that are 5 inches wide (or as wide as your machine allows) and at least 20 inches long. Cut each strip crosswise in three shorter rectangles, each about 7 inches long.

Flour each rectangle and roll them up the long way into a loose cylinder, like a fat cigar. With a sharp knife, cut cleanly through the rolled dough crosswise at 1/8- to ¼ -inch intervals. Shake and unroll the cut pieces, opening them into tajarin ribbons, each about 7 inches long and ¼ inch wide. Dust them liberally with flour and set them aside on a floured towel or tray.

Cooking the Pasta 

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil, and season it with salt until it is as salty as the sea. Place the tajarin in the boiling water and cook them until they are al dente, about 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter and ½ cup of pasta water in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Melt the butter and swirl the pan until the mixture looks creamy and becomes an emulsified sauce. Season it with salt to taste.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the butter sauce, tossing to evenly coat it with the sauce. If necessary, add some of the pasta cooking water to the sauce to keep it from getting too dense.

Divide the pasta equally among heated bowls and serve immediately with shaved fresh truffles. Pair your pasta with a glass (or two) of Dolcetto d’Alba wine.