"Whoever says truffle, utters a grand word, which awakens erotic and gastronomic ideas....."I have long had a fascination with truffles. Not the chocolate truffles but the prized fungus variety known for an extravagant price tag (up to $9000US a kilo in Europe) and by being unearthed by trained pedigree sniffer pigs. You might think I am joking, but there are those foodies who are so truffle-obsessed that they talk about the excitement of smelling fresh black truffles as “better than having an orgasm”. In Italy, it makes national headlines when the price of truffles goes up. Believe it or not there is a similar level of interest in Australia. A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald headlined that the “price of Italian white truffles soars”. It asked the million dollar question keeping die-hard Australian foodies up at night - How were gourmets going to cope with having to dig even deeper for “white gold” -the strong, garlicky-scented delicacy that they usually shave into pasta, salads and omelettes?
So, what is it about the truffle that has everyone going wild? Truffles are known as legendary aphrodisiacs of ancient Rome. It is believed - although yet to be confirmed by modern science - that truffles' musky scent replicates the scent of the male pheromone androstenone. Even Napoleon ate truffles to increase his masculine potency. The heady scent and dirty flavour of them is said to stimulate the senses and put you in the mood for love.
We are most fortunate in our sunshine state. The South West of Western Australia is ideal for truffle orchards, as it is similar to the natural growing environment of the Bordeaux Region in Southern France and is becoming famous around the globe for the black truffles available from the harvest between May and August. Truffle prices are still exorbitant but at least we have easier access to satisfy our lustful cravings for fresh, local truffles.
In Manjimup, The Wine and Truffle Co. (http://wineandtruffle.com.au) is the largest producer of fresh truffles in the southern hemisphere, with over 13,000 hazel and oak trees. It is a must see on my itinerary every time I go down south for a quick reprieve from my hectic corporate day job. The Wine & Truffle Co is one of the few truffières in the world where you can participate in the excitement of a guided “truffle hunt”. Even though you don’t usually find anything, it is still a load of fun to be lulled into the feigned sense that you might just get lucky. I liken the experience to panning for gold in Kalgoorlie. You know that your chances of finding gold are close to zilch but you still do it with a faint hope at the back of your mind that maybe, just maybe, you could strike it rich.
My sister-in-law and I decided we wanted to go on a girl date and do something special to help us bond as new sisters. We had both been hearing about all the truffle festivals but didn’t want to travel three hours to experience them. Our mission - to go on the hunt for a local truffle dining destination guaranteed to deliver. If you didn’t know it already, the sooty flavour of truffles goes really well with eggs. We found a write-up on a new restaurant in Victoria Park called The Silver Spoon (http://thesilverspoon.net.au) that boasted a breakfast of either a 3-egg omelette with truffle, pecorino, mushroom & spinach or, Mt. Cook smoked salmon with truffle scrambled eggs, spinach & Turkish bread. Sold!
The Silver Spoon Restaurant is a sleek, modern Australian bistro and a welcome addition to the Victoria Park strip which is not traditionally known for its über hip vibe or coolness. It is open for trading Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner but only offers a breakfast on the week-end between 8 and 12. We both ordered the truffle scrambled eggs and had high expectations. The dish that was presented looked like an overpromise that had failed to deliver. I was expecting a mound of golden, fluffy scrambled eggs set atop with lashings of shaved black truffle and contrasted against the deep green of barely wilted spinach and pink, fleshy swathes of fresh smoked salmon. Instead, an Ebenezer Scrooge size portion of ungarnished scrambled eggs were presented with a couple of spinach leaves, a thumbnail of smoked salmon and a pointy slice of toasted, Turkish bread saturated in oil. The dish redeemed itself based on flavor. The hint of truffle oil the chef had used in the scramble eggs made it a star. I closed my eyes and waited for my erotic experience – the flavour was earthy, musty and pungent but I can’t say it got me in a sexy mood. Maybe I just didn’t eat enough of it!
Given the $20 price tag I definitely expected more of the dish but will be hard pressed to return to making scrambled eggs without using truffle oil in the future. And with the promise of being rocked into another sexual orbit, I will definitely be going back for more. There’s a big divide amongst truffle afficionados about turning to truffle oil instead of using the real deal. For some gastronomes and chefs, truffle oil is argued as the most cost-effective way to enhance a dish with the flavour of the indigenous truffles. For others, it is simply garbage. For my sister-in-law and I discovering how to pimp our scrambled eggs with truffle oil was all about eating sexy and definitely worth the trip.
Passion Rating★★★★★
Food:★★★☆☆
Service:★★☆☆☆
Ambiance:★★★★☆
Overall:★★★☆☆
Here’s a great recipe for you to try for yourself courtesy of Marg Johnson who was inspired by a recent trip to the Mundaring Truffle Festival:
Scrambled Eggs with Truffle (Serves 2)
6 eggs
1/2 cup cream or use milk if preferred
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g butter
2 slices sour dough bread or brioche, grilled or toasted
1 small truffle (about 20 gms), finely shredded or 2 tablespoons of truffle oil
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
If time permits place the truffle in with the eggs for a day or two. This allows the perfume to permeate the eggs. Then lightly beat the eggs with a fork just enough to break up the eggs. Add the cream and seasoning. Heat a non-stick fry pan to only moderately hot and add the butter. Pour in the egg mixture. When the mixture starts to set on the bottom, carefully scrape this off the bottom, letting more liquid egg run into its place. Add half of the shredded truffle at this stage. Continue in this way until there is only a small amount of the liquid mixture left. Remove the eggs from the heat at this point. Turn the eggs out onto the hot toast/ brioche and serve with a scatter of truffle and parsley. There will be enough heat left in the eggs to complete the cooking and you will have beautiful tender curds with no puddle and the most sublime scatter of truffle.
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