Eternal Gratitude, Truffles and Divorce

Tagliatelle al Tartufo

After we had been living in Verona for about 6 months, Vincent got a call from Mr. C.  Remember he was the landlord of our house in Cerro Veronese.  He called to ask if there was an opening at the Gelati Sanson plant.  Mr. C’s niece was married to a Peruvian fellow.  Let’s call him José.  Because of work laws and José’s immigration status, he was unable to find work.   Mr. C was wondering if Vincent could pull some strings.

Signor C. (right) and his brother-in-law.  Aren't they dapper!

Mr. C's niece.

Signor C's brother-in-law and José.

Vincent talked to Teofilo Sanson and found a job for José.  José was happy, his bride was happy and her father was very happy AND eternally grateful.  For the next few years we lived in Verona we got surprise gifts  on a regular basis.  There would be a knock at the door and a messenger would be there with a case of Amarone wine procured from a cousin of a cousin.  Several weeks later there would be a box of perfect, ripe peaches just picked from the tree.  Sometimes we received bottles of smooth, fruity olive oil from the uncle of a sister-in-law. Once it was a large white truffle, probably worth hundreds of dollars.  And of course there were many bags of polenta flour because José’s father-in-law owned a polenta flour mill.

Perfect, fragrant Peaches.

Northern Italian Winter White Truffles, most probably from Alba in Piemonte!

Here's a black French truffle.

I’ve been thinking about the intricate family relationships that seem to exist in Italy, more than in the states.  When you marry in Italy, you unite not only the happy couple but a slew of other people: cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers-in-law. These relationships form an intricate web.  Maybe that is why the divorce rate is much lower in Italy. (US: 4.95 per 1000 people, Italy: .27 per 1000 people). Unraveling these relationships would be complicated.

Tagliatelle al tartufo

This is a simple recipe.  All you need is one very expensive truffle: ours was a Northern Italian Winter White Truffle. (1 ounce $280).  Fresh tagliatelle, Some superior extra virgin olive oil or butter and a garlic clove.

1. Cook the tagliatelle in boiling, salted water.
2. Clean the truffle with a damp cloth.   Slice in paper-thin slivers.  Save a few nice slices for decoration.
3. Peel the garlic clove.  Smash slightly.
4. Slowly warm the oil or butter with the clove of garlic.  
5. Fish out the garlic.  Add the truffle slices.
6. Briefly warm the truffle slices.
7. Add the tagliatelle and a ladle of pasta water to the oil/butter and truffles.  Mix deftly.
8. Fill four bowls.  Sprinkle with remaining truffle slices. 

I’ve seen recipes where they add freshly grated parmesan.  Others feel that the cheese masks the delicate truffle flavor!

Don’t mix a woodsy truffle with a Tartufo di Gelato!  A delicious ice cream treat fabricated to look like a truffle.