Presto Pasta Night #40

It's a milestone for Presto Pasta Night, Ruth's little baby has reached the big 4-0 and so far we've enjoyed 39 weeks of pasta nirvana.

To celebrate I've made something a little special using, once again, the wonderful pasta from the Florence Market. This time I've gone for the fresh spaghetti



and will be using it with my last remaining Umbrian Black Truffle



If you are using something as flavoursome as a truffle then you really need to keep it simple. The base of my sauce will be a burnt butter sauce but this time, fine slices of truffle have been left in the melting butter to slowly infuse, creating a greater depth of flavour. Some of the truffles will break into small chunks that will cling to the pasta strands but you will also be left with some larger slices that can be luxuriously draped over the top of your finished dish.



Spaghetti with Black Truffle

fresh spaghetti
butter
1 black truffle, shaved
salt and freshly ground white pepper

With a dish such as this you really need to use the best butter you can find. In this case, I used this



hand made butter from Tuscany that when unwrapped looked like this

it wasn't the shape that surprised me but more so the colour as Italian butters tend to be on the white side.

Take the butter and place it in a pan over a very gentle heat and when it starts to melt add the slices of truffle to the pot. Let this slowly melt, swivel the truffles in the stir rather than stir it as this will limit the number that will break down. When melted take it off the heat and cook your pasta.

This gives time for the the truffle to infuse.

When the pasta is just about ready but the pan back on the heat and continue to cook until it begins to brown. Add the drained pasta and fold it through. Taste and season with a little freshly ground salt and black pepper.

Serve into bowls and drape a few of the whole truffle slices over the top.



Breathe in, smile and eat at once!