Grant has been preparing delicious dishes using our truffles for some years now. For those of you who have visited Black Estate Winery, you do not need me to tell you that he is a talented chef and knows how to make quality ingredients shine. We asked him to share one of his favourite recipes using truffle.
Preparing the spatzle - Ingredients:
- 630g soft white flour (we use milmore I bleached white flour)
- 450g whole egg (high welfare)
- 360g a2 milk
- 18g salt
To cook - Ingredients:
- 180g finished spatzle
- 120g cooking water
- 20g good quality Parmesan/pecorino
- 35g truffle butter
- Neutral oil and butter
To finish:
- 40g shiitake
- Good quality Parmesan/pecorino
- 1 egg (high welfare) - infused with truffle if you have started prepping a few days in advance
- Truffle for shaving
Preparing the spatzle:
Step 1. Bring a large pot of salted water (like the ocean, same as pasta water) to a boil. You will need to rest a colander over the pot without it touching the water inside - it is probably easier to figure this out before everything is boiling.
Step 2. Whisk all the ingredients together in no particular order until you get a smooth batter, let it rest for 5 minutes, then give it another good whisk. No more resting is required.
Step 3. Place a metal colander over your boiling water (think like a double boiler or Bain Marie set up but with a colander instead). Pour 1/4 of the mixture into the colander and using a rubber spatula, force the mixture through the holes so that they drop into the boiling water. Continue until mix is all gone.
Step 4. Once spatzle floats to the top it is ready and can be scooped out and left to steam out on a flat tray. I avoid using an ice bath because I found this dilutes the flavour.
Reserve the cooking water
Cooking of the spatzle:
(Each measurement from here is weighed out for 1 portion. So just increase the quantity for each additional person)
Step 1. Preheat a good frying pan and add a squirt of neutral cooking oil and 20g of regular butter to melt. Add spatzle, breaking it apart with your fingers, and fry on med/high till mostly golden brown. As the recipe has salt in it and we are using salted cooking water AND salty cheese, don’t add any salt until the very end.
Step 2. Add the reserved cooking water along with 20g butter and cook on high until the water is mostly evaporated. You should be able to run a spoon through the mix and it doesn’t race back into place. Add truffle butter and cheese then remove from heat. (If anything with fresh truffle gets too hot it will entirely kill off any of the beautiful flavour)
Step 3. Vigorously mix with a spoon, you should start seeing the starch and cheese tightening up until you have a mixture something like a well made risotto.
To finish:
Step 1. Oil and season then roast or fry off shiitake quickly (5-6 minutes in a hot oven).
Step 2. Poach an egg until -just- cooked.
Step 3. Spoon spatzle mix into a warm bowl, hollow out the middle a bit and place the egg inside. Crack some pepper on top.
Step 3. Place shiitake around the egg and grate a generous helping of cheese over top and fresh truffle if you are using it. Serve.
As tempting as it is, I avoid using any additional herbs like parsley as I find this detracts from the flavour of truffle.
