Truffle Hunting!

He’s here

It was 5:30 in the morning when there was a gentle knock on our door. “He’s here…” I said “and he is half an hour early!” We quickly gathered the cameras (and our wits) and slipped downstairs to where our host for the morning was waiting beside his truck.

Giorgio Cortopassi

He was wearing clothes similar to hunting clothes with a multi-pocketed vest, hiking boots and, a well-worn ball cap. “Giorgio Cortopassi” he introduced himself quietly with a warm smile. “Buon giorno, Tim and Nat” I replied shaking his hand.

Half asleep

Walking to the back of the truck he popped the hatch where there was a small dog kennel with the sweetest little white puppy looking half asleep but as eager as we were.

Truffles in the hills

Eager because we were on our way to find some truffles in the hills around Lucca.
“Baby!” he said introducing the dog, who came to life at the sound of her name.
Baby is a Lagotto Romagnolo also known as an Italian truffle dog. She is a medium build, well-proportioned dog that is very affectionate and well trained.

Taste of truffle

Baby’s introduction to the smell and taste of truffle was in the form of truffle oil put on her mother’s teet when she started to feed. That was all it took. Baby found her first truffle when she was only 3 months old. Mr Cortopassi explained to us in Italian (he does not speak English) that today Baby was shaved short so that she would not get snagged or caught up while snaking through the undergrowth and she was even cuter when her fur grew out (I don’t know if that’s possible).

The pressure of small talk

Introductions complete, we piled in the truck and headed off. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day as the sun was just starting to peek over the mountains with hardly a cloud in the sky.
We drove mostly in silence, taking in the cool morning air as we climbed a steep road to one of Baby’s favourite hunting spots.  Mr Cortopassi is apparently a quiet man and I think he liked that we spoke different languages, forced to enjoy our surroundings without the pressure of small talk.

One-lane dirt road

Crawling around the back of the mountain on a one-lane dirt road we all noticed a very wet and skinny pheasant standing in the middle of the road. Usually being pretty shy, we expected the bird to scurry into the woods as the truck approached. Instead, it decided to bop along in front of the truck following the road in front of us. We all started to giggle, when we sped up it sped up, when we stopped it stopped and this continued for at least 200 yards down the road until all of us were in stitches at this pheasant doing an imitation of the roadrunner.  

Scare the bird

Finally Signore Cortopassi, now laughing full on and talking to the bird in Italian, stopped the car and got out to scare the bird away but it just ran down the road 50 feet and waited. Getting back in the truck shaking his head he put it in gear and this time gave it considerably more gas but the bird matched our speed and ran in front of the car for another 50 yards until finally deciding to turn onto a trail and stop to watch us pass by laughing at its antics.

Comic relief

Soon after our comic relief with the wet pheasant, we arrived at our first spot. Getting out of the truck Mr Cortopassi described the terrain in Italian which was lacking in lots of undergrowth, was sheltered by large oak and chestnut trees and had a loose rocky dirt floor.

She sprang down

By this time Baby new exactly where she was and was raring to go in the back of the truck.  As soon as the kennel door clicked open she sprang down, jumped up to greet each of us and she was off like a white blur, nose to the ground, flying back and forth across the forest floor in a seemingly random pattern. Within 30 seconds she stopped dead in her tracks and started digging madly.

A possible scent

We stood amazed as she ran with her nose an inch off the ground changing direction in an instant to follow a possible scent.  Again she stopped, it was obvious she was zeroing in on another truffle, sniffing like mad in about a 2 square foot patch Mr. Cortopassi urged her on, she stopped, sniffed heavily and then started to dig like a dog possessed, shooting dirt through her back legs and sticking her nose in the resulting hole to check her progress.  

Off the hole

Mr. Cortopassi gently pulled her off the hole she had made and looked with a flashlight, nothing.  Baby, looking surprised, jumped back on the hole and stuffed her nose deep in the dirt, determined, she burst into another fit of digging and then popped her head up with a truffle in her mouth. This time she didn’t want to give it up as easily as if to say I told you so but eventually traded it for a cookie from the vest pocket.

I was impressed

Two truffles in about ten minutes, I was impressed. We set Baby off again to see what else she could find. Racing back and forth stopping briefly to make sure we were watching her and to get praise from her very proud and loving owner, she worked the forest thoroughly. She did stop once more about 60 yards from us and raised her head already chewing. “Piccolino!” he said.  Baby knew it was too small for our troubles and took care of it for us.
That area well gone over it was time to move to the next spot and with a whistle, while pointing to the kennel, Baby hopped in the truck.

A bit of undergrowth

The next spot was rockier and had quite a bit of undergrowth but that did not slow Baby down. In fact, there were enough truffles in the ground there that she whipped herself into quite a frenzy and would stop on a dime to excavate any possible truffle lying below. About an hour and a half later, with eight truffles in the bag, we called it a morning and walked back to the truck with a very tired and dirty little dog.  I thanked Baby by giving her a thorough petting and chin scratching and then she retired quietly to the kennel knowing she had made her master very proud.

A hand full of truffles

Back at the house with a hand full of truffles, my mind raced with what I might cook to try and impress you folks. If you have not had the pleasure of eating truffles before, their taste is quite peculiar. They have been described as a combination of sweaty socks and sex but are more aptly described as earthy and musty giving off an almost garlic-like gaseous smell.  

Roast chicken

Truffle-stuffed roast chicken, no, truffle and sole roulades or truffled sea scallops, no. For me, when faced with outstandingly fresh and delicious ingredients such as these truffles I always like to keep it simple. So it was a steaming bowl of fresh bavette (linguini-like) pasta with butter, lots of fresh Pecorino, black pepper and heaps of shaved truffles. The next morning it was a truffle laden omelette for breakfast.

Paired with butter

Truffles like to be paired with butter, cheese (particularly Parmesan and pecorino), cream, eggs, pasta, olive oil, risotto, mushrooms, poultry, white fish, scallops and are fantastic over grilled steak. The simplest and one of the most delicious is truffle crostini, simply rub a toasted piece of bread with fresh truffle, drizzle with olive oil, lay more shaved truffle on top and season with salt. Grated truffle mixed into your best-mashed potatoes will change your life too!

Italian summer truffle

It should be noted that we were hunting for the Italian summer truffle (black) and that the coveted super odiferous (and expensive) white truffle comes into season in November. Mr Cortopassi has invited us back for a white truffle hunt but I am sure those ones I will not be able to keep.

Top of my list

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of truffles, mushrooms and, foraging. Truffle hunting has always been at the top of my list of things to do before I die and now I can check that off my list.  Do I want to go again? Hell ya! Dogs, truffles and the great outdoors, what’s not to love?
“Grazie” Signore Cortopassi and “Grazie mille!” Baby.