Despite my doctor's warnings, I love rich, buttery pasta dishes. But I do feel guilty after consuming a large bowl of carbs and cream. Then I was introduced to buttery pasta with truffles. Truffles are like expensive mushrooms, and since mushrooms are said to have medicinal benefits, that must mean truffles are extremely beneficial to my health. Healthy pasta? Check.
The recipe, after the jump.
Tagliatelle with Truffle Butter
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces white truffle butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (8.82-ounce) package Cipriani tagliarelle dried pasta or other egg fettuccine
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved thin with a vegetable peeler
Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, reduce the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat.
Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for three minutes, exactly. (If you're not using Cipriani pasta, follow the directions on the package.) When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water, as necessary, to keep the pasta very creamy.
Serve the pasta in shallow bowls and garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve at once.
FYI, I was lazy and used already grated Parmesan. Another thing to keep in mind is that the pasta absorbs a surprising amount of liquid, so the pasta might seem runny at first, leading you to think you won't need the extra cooking water, but you'll end up using it all. Just keep tossing as the liquid is absorbed and you'll have creamy, tender truffle pasta.
Here, I served it with some seared scallops and topped with some fleur de sel with dried garlic and basil.
