Summer truffle peelings 200g

For 60 days each summer, in the oak and hazel shadows of the Grosseto hills, a dog and a trifolau work the ground before the heat cracks it open. Tuber aestivum Vitt. — the summer truffle, tartufo estivo — grows shallow here, its black warty skin hiding a marbled hazelnut-and-forest interior that smells like wet stone and toasted bread.

The Brezzi family has been canning Tuscan truffles for three generations. They peel the tubers by hand, save the whole ones for the whole-truffle line, and layer the peelings — the flavor-dense skin and the perfectly good fragments that come off the knife — into small round cans with just water and salt. A whisper of natural truffle aroma sharpens the top note that a heat process would otherwise flatten. That's it. No cream, no oil, no synthetic 2,4-dithiapentane vibes pretending to be something they aren't. Read the label. We're transparent because chefs read labels.

Peelings are the working chef's secret. You aren't paying for the museum-piece silhouette of a whole truffle — you're paying for the flavor, sliced and ready. Fold them into brown butter for tajarin. Spoon them over a barely-set scramble. Steep the drained brine (yes, it's edible — think of it as truffle colatura) into a risotto's final swirl or a vinaigrette for warm potatoes. One 200g can, sixteen 9g servings, an entire summer's worth of quiet showing-off.

Spice does the hunting. You do the plating.

Product Details

• Net Weight: 200g (7 oz)
• Drained Weight: 144g (5 oz)
• Shelf Life: 36 months unopened
• Storage: Cool, dark pantry unopened. Once opened, transfer to a clean glass jar with brine, refrigerate, use within 5–7 days.
• Origin: Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy
• Ingredients: Summer truffles (Tuber aestivum Vitt.), water, salt, natural truffle aroma
• Producer: Eugenio Brezzi & C. snc — three generations of Tuscan truffle canning
• Servings per can: 16 · 9g each · 0 calories · 50mg sodium

Chef Dunand's Recipe: Tajarin al Tartufo Estivo

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a first course

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh tajarin or tagliatelle (or good egg pappardelle)
• 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
• 1 small shallot, minced very fine
• 1 clove garlic, smashed (removed before serving)
• ½ cup dry white wine (Vermentino or Trebbiano)
• 3–4 tablespoons Summer Truffle Peelings, drained and minced fine (reserve 2 tablespoons of the brine)
• ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for finishing
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Flaky sea salt, to taste

Method

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop the pasta — fresh tajarin cooks in 2–3 minutes.
2. While the pasta cooks, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and smashed garlic; sweat until the shallot is translucent but not colored, 2–3 minutes. Discard the garlic.
3. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half, about 90 seconds. Add the reserved 2 tablespoons of truffle brine and reduce again for 30 seconds — this is your flavor base.
4. Reduce heat to low. Add the remaining cold butter cube by cube, swirling the pan to emulsify into a glossy sauce. Do not let it boil.
5. Off heat, stir in the minced truffle peelings. Their fine specks will disperse through the butter — this is the sauce.
6. Drain the pasta, reserving a splash of the cooking water. Toss the pasta into the truffle butter, adding a tablespoon of pasta water if needed to loosen. The pasta should be glossed, not swimming.
7. Finish with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, cracked black pepper, and a pinch of flaky salt. Plate immediately.

Serve with

A cold glass of the same Vermentino you cooked with, and a bitter green salad — puntarelle if you can find it, radicchio if you can't.

Chef's Note

Mince the peelings fine before folding them in — the flavor releases evenly through the butter that way, and the sauce takes on the speckled character of a true tartufata. If you have a whole raw summer truffle, shave a few slivers on top at the table for perfume; not required, and honestly, the peelings do the work.

Storage

Best eaten immediately. Leftover pasta will keep 24 hours refrigerated but loses its truffle perfume — reheat gently with a splash of cream to bring it back.