I Dig Truffles

I love Autumn – it is my favorite time of the year.  My Aussie husband agrees, as he loves dark beer and big rich stews.  My autumn dreams are a little more pointed and specific:  truffles.  Black, earthy, pungent, wonderful truffles.  We had an opportunity to go truffle hunting in Italy, as part of a culinary week-long vacation in Umbria.   More about the trip later;  today we are focused.   I was hoping we would be hunting with the traditional unearther of truffles - the pig, but apparently they are hard to control and often eat the prize before the handler has a chance to snatch it away to safety.  So now they use specially trained dogs, which do not like truffles so much.  They prefer the doggie treat they receive for a job well done.  Which means more truffles for us!   

 We met our guide and his dog in a grove of hazelnut trees (as this is an area ripe with possibility) and after a short lesson on how to dig, set off after the busily sniffing dog.  We were instantly rewarded with a beautiful specimen, and carefully dug it up.  It was a good day for hunting, and by the end of our allotted hour we had a sizeable collection of truffles to turn into tasty dishes.   

The meals that followed were some of the best I have had!  Simple pasta  with a celery and grated truffle sauce, beef with a wonderful shaved truffle topping.  Sigh…  I wonder if truffles grow around here?