Ingredients

Servings 4

For pasta

• 10 oz all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs

For dressing

• ¼ cup butter
• 3 leaves of sage
• truffle to taste
• salt to taste

Preparation

30 minutes preparation + 15 minutes cooking

Prepare a fairly rich egg pasta by mixing together the flour and eggs.
Roll the dough out into a thin sheet, using a rolling pin or pasta machine.

Once you have a thin sheet, fold it multiple times and cut into 1/5 inch wide tagliatelle.

Gently melt the butter in a sauce pan with the sage leaves.

Cook the tagliatelle in a large pot of boiling salted water: drain when al dente and toss the pasta in the butter and sage, adding a ladle of cooking water.

Slice truffles directly onto each individual plate of pasta.

Food History

Loved since ancient, truffles were believed to have divine origins. According to the truffles were created by the encounter of rain and thunder.  Even the Romans were very fond of truffles. Pliny listed them among the prodigious plants, while Apicius, the great Roman chef, left a number of recipes based on truffles. (See pages 166/167 of Arte coquinaria).

Did you know that...

the famous French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, "truffles can make women more tender and men more amiable?”

False myths

The truffle, one of the most prized foods, is not a tuber but a subterranean fungus, which grows underground.

Other suggested recipes

• Potatoes with truffles
• Spaghetti with truffles
• Risotto with porcini mushrooms and truffled Pecorino cheese