Last Sunday I needed to go to Greenville to get the cheese for the Raclette my sweet daughter wanted to eat for her birthday. I went to Whole Food. Their cheese selection is so fabulous, it almost resemble a cheese display that you would find in a French grocery store. Of course, you guessed it.. my purchases did not stop at the cheese. I browsed and browsed and bought things I had either never seen before, or things I never ever find here in Spartanburg: Black truffles. The truffles were not from France or Italy ( you would not have found them in this grocery store), but from Oregon. They looked good and since truffles are one of my favorite food, i purchased them to see how they would fair. Truffles bring so much perfume to a dish that little is needed for the dish itself. In fact, the best truffle dish I have eaten were fresh pastas, fresh gnocchis or risotto topped with savings of truffles and parmesan.

Today’s menu for my husband: Black Truffle Risotto.

Generally Risotto do not contain cream. Risotto gets creamier by cooking so slowly, but I wanted to have really a creamy risotto so I added cream.

Ingredients for 4-6: 2 black truffles, 1 bag or 12 oz of Arborio rice for risotto, 1 medium-sized sweet onion very thinly sliced, 3 cup of broth, 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/8 tsp of salt, 1/16 tsp of white pepper, Asiago or Parmesan shavings, olive oil.

In a heavy pot, warm up the olive oil and add the diced onions. Cook for 3 minutes at medium-low temperature just to sweat the onions. The onions should become transparent and soft but should not get any coloration. Add the rice and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Add 1/4 cup of white wine and cook until the wine has been completely absorbed. Add 1/2 cup of broth and cook until the broth has been absorbed. Keep stirring in between so that the rice will not burn and will not get any coloration either. Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and cook until completely absorbed. Repeat adding broth and heavy cream by 1/2 cup at a time and by alternating broth and heavy cream. The rice should be cooked through, yet a bit crunchy still. add more salt if you deem necessary. With a medium-sized grater, grate on the truffle and stir it in the rice. Shave the other truffle very very thinly. Shave the Asiago cheese very thinly as well. Serve the risotto on the plate, add a few truffle shavings and top it off with Asiago. Et Voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!