Truffles: once in a year treasure

Cooking is a passion and the kitchen is a safe haven for many people. Personally, I am not the kind of person who is obsessed with cooking, but I do spend considerable time preparing and trying out new recipes for my family and, sometimes, friends.

Making food for the people you love is one way to show that affection, to get closer to them, show them you care, and stay connected. What’s better than gathering all of your family around a dinner table on Sundays or weekends?

Honesty, I am fond of baking and preparing all kinds of sweet dishes, though I don’t each that much! Spring, nevertheless, is a time of fabulous once-in-a-year ingredient: truffles!

Collecting and cooking with those incredibly tasty fruits is one of my favorite activities throughout spring. To find out more on how to use truffles, keep scrolling down.

A sneak peek at the southern regions of Tunisia:

Counted among the fungus species, truffles are extraordinarily tasty, very expensive, and existed in various forms and shapes. You need to be aware, though, that not all types are safe to consume. The ones I am used to seeing and cooking with are of Tunisian origin. These delicacies can be found in two colors, either white or reddish black. They are either small or medium-sized, though sometimes you might find very big ones.

Lack is my companion in the journey for hunting down these rare fruits. Sometimes, I keep searching for hours without winning one single fruit; other times I go home carrying around a kilogram of them. Right, one kilogram can be found in a single walk outside. One kilogram can be sold for up to one hundred Tunisian dinars and more. That’s one reason to host several visits from relatives and friends during spring; fungus hunting!

Those potatoes like fruits or vegetables, for that matter, are extremely adored by people here and elsewhere as well. Some would say they taste and smell bad! That would be a huge injustice to the species. They simply taste and even smell earthy. And they add flavor beyond all expectations to food.

Some people would call them the meat of the poor. The only similarity I could think of is in terms of their prices; actually, they can be much more expensive than meat. But, some of my family and other people I know would describe the taste of these species as that of meat. That’s the origin of the comparison, then!

The surprising thing is that many people don’t know this treasure and would still ask how to use truffles, each time this topic is brought up. Here, I will put aside all of their benefits and just focusing one aspect: their exquisite taste! Stomach comes first.

Truffles cooking recipes:

Coking with such delicacies has been one of the best things that happened to me since early adulthood. Growing on land where these fruits are naturally grown has been a beautiful coincidence.

Truffles are not easy to handle. They are so delicate that one piece might go into thousands of pieces in one single move and you will be left with nothing to eat.

When handling them remember to be gentle and don’t press them much. First of all wash them, scrabbling nicely. It is better to wash them under running water instead of putting them in a vessel full of water. Then, With a sharp knife, peel the outer layer carefully. Finally, wash them again.

The simplest way to cook these precious fruits is by placing them in a pot containing hot water, adding some salt as you prefer, and leave them for about eight minutes on medium heat.

Once done, you can serve them beside any appetizers you have. Or you can also mix them with other dishes, salads for example.

My second favorite truffle cooking recipe is with pea. Pea is among the common types of beans that are cultivated around here.

For 500 grams of peas, you will need about five pieces of big white truffles. Start with cutting one onion into small pieces, put it in a pot, add ground garlic, season with your favorite spices, one and a half spoon of tomato paste, one and a half spoon of chili powder, and pour in about eight tablespoons of olive oil of course.

Pour in one liter of water and leave it to boil. Then add your pea and leave it to cook on medium heat. Just ten minutes before the sauce is cooked, add the sweet treasure. Once done, invite yourself to a plate. Garnish with raw green peppers and parsley.

Some people cook pea with meat or poultry. When I am using truffle, I avoid any kind of meat because the former simply substitute it. The taste is incredible and I am sure you would love it.