Truffle!

One day last week we went out with a friend and his dog, trained to find truffles. At first the dog wasn't impressed with our land and seemed more interested in the rabbit warrens that pepper one corner of the woods.

Then she shot out to a spot that was nowhere near a "truffier", the kind of oak tree that is known to promote the growth of truffles around its roots. And then she gave the signal: she scratched a spot twice, then laid down, looking up at us.

Our friend kneeled down next to where Daisy the truffle dog had scratched, and he dug with his fingers a couple of inches into the ground, and look what we found:

We gave the truffle on the left to our truffle-finding friend and kept the one on the right.
It weighed 85 g., which, we were told, is a very respectable size.

The next evening, we were having dinner with friends and another couple, old friends of theirs down from Paris for a few days. Naturally we shared our truffle hunt story and they were quite impressed, especially as it was late in the season. Most truffle finders apparently have stopped looking.

Dinner was excellent, the conversation was lively and there was lots of laughter. It was confirmed a couple of times that truffle is best eaten fresh. Also, it so happens that Patrick, one half of the Parisian couple, is a chef. And they were heading back to Paris on the Sunday. And so so things fell into place quickly and it was decided that we would get together again the following evening, at their place this time, for a classic truffle dish that Patrick would prepare for us: "brouillade", essentially scrambled eggs with cream, served plain with truffle shavings on top.

The next morning, Pierre-Jean brought over fresh eggs from Marie's mother's chickens, with precise instructions to keep them in a jar along with the truffle until dinnertime so that they may absorb the aroma (truffle is pungent!).

The rest is culinary history.

The two ideal partners.

We've had truffle in some form or other before, but never quite understood what was the big deal. This meal really opened our eyes. The simple taste of fresh farm eggs and cream was the perfect support for the earthy, nutty flavour of the truffle.

When we get a dog, it will be trained not to bite or run across the street, of course. But there is new skill on its training program now.