Truffle in the kitchen

Two weeks ago, a very good friend of mine stayed at our place for three days.  He had spent three weeks in Germany and some other European countries nearby.  He visited us for awhile before continuing his journey to the northern parts of Sweden, Finland and Norway.  When he got to our place, he had some gifts for us - fine chocolates, a cute cuckoo clock fridge magnet and two very special items, truffle salt and truffle oil. 

Truffles are a luxury that I rarely get to indulge in.  In fact, I don't think I've ever really had truffle anything.  But I have seen truffle oil or salt being used either in food shows or some fancy restaurants.  They are used as finishing touches and when the chefs drizzle the oil or sprinkle the salt, people would go 'Wow'.  I do wonder how much of a difference tiny drops or sprinkles of the stuff would make in a dish.  I haven't had the opportunity to use them yet.  My cooking is more rustic than refined so I don't really go collecting recipes that would call for such frivolous ingredients. 

Somehow, this morning, I decided I would like to try and use them.  We were having boiled eggs with bread, butter and cheese for breakfast.  I usually butter the bread, place some thin slices of cheese and pull the egg apart and place it on top.  A sort of simple open-faced sandwich.  Though simple, I love how the ingredients combine to make a tasty dish.  This morning, on impulse, I opened the tiny bottle of salt to sprinkle some over my eggs.  The moment I opened the jar, the aroma of the white truffles permeated the kitchen.  An earthy scent filled the kitchen.  I used a scant amount, not even a pinch, and took a bite.  Yumm.  The salty earthiness gave it an extra dimension to the sandwich.  Umami.  Now I understood that word.

In the afternoon, I was heating up a simple potato and leek soup I made yesterday.  I added some corn for some extra crunch and decided to use the truffle oil to pump up the flavour.  After ladling out the soup into bowls, I drizzled mine with a bit of the oil.  Again, the smell of the white truffle was overwhelming.  But when I mixed that in with the soup, the flavour of the soup was lifted and made the humble soup more than it is.  I compared my pimped up soup to Pete's plain one and I could tell the difference.  His was nice but dull, while mine had that oomph of umami.

It's amazing how such a small amount of mushroom could impart such flavour.  In fact, Pete was surprised that the truffle salt had only 0.3% of white truffle.  I was surprised too.  Pleasantly.  I am so happy to have such an indulgent ingredient that I can use.  Although I don't have that much, a little goes a long way.  If you do have amazing friends who gives away such delicious presents, treasure them (your friends).  And use them (the truffle oil or salt).  The truffle oil and salt really pushes your dishes over the edge.