Istrian Tagliatelle with Black Truffles

Tagliatelle are traditional style pasta from the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions of Italy. Istria, as it happened with so many other regions throughout history, was at one period of time part of Italy. Consequently, many Italian style dishes become part of the Istrian Cuisine, mixing it in the process with local dishes and influences from other civilizations that were there before and after Italy came and went.

Istrian Tagliatelle are very much just as traditional Italian tagliatelle in the sense that they were made with durum wheat semolina and and with real eggs. Istria is also one of the very few regions in the world where truffles are grown and harvested naturally. Combining these delicacy, many gourmet dishes were created and from what I can tell, this is just a beginning...

Directions

STEP 1 Melt butter in a cooking pan. Add béchamel, salt, pepper, and briefly cook.

STEP 2 Cook tagliatelle pasta, drain, and add sauce you prepared in STEP 1.

STEP 3 Finish with tartufata or thinly shaved truffles (or both :) and few drops of Truffle Olive Oil. Serve with cheese so it can be added as desired.

Ingredients

0.5lb Istrian Tagliatelle by Klara Maric
2oz Truffles or Tartufata
5oz Béchamel (preferred) or Crème Fraîche
2oz Butter
Salt, Pepper, Parmesan, Grana Padano, or Paski Cheese
Extra Virgin Truffle Olive Oil

FELLOW AMATEUR CHEF TIP: As any pasta, tagliatelle are best when coocked 'al dente.' You can easily determine if pasta is al dente if, when you taste it, pasta is not 'glued' to your teeth.