I’ve been waiting so long to post this and I’m very excited to bring this recipe to you. This is a fancy variation over one of the easiest pastas you can make. Usually, “Butter and Parmigiano” is what I call an “emergency pasta”, meaning is what I would do if my fridge was empty. Yes, because it will never be that empty to not have at least Parmigiano and butter… And pasta of course.
It’s very simple, but this time I added fresh summer truffles to it, in the hope to elevate it to higher standards. This is summer truffle season and we should take advantage of it, until it lasts. I like to feel the texture and the flavor of truffle, don’t be shy with it, the summer ones are not that expensive.
With the right technique you’ll achieve an amazing creaminess and delicate flavor. And you can surely make it without truffles and use it in case of emergencies. Note that I wrote Parmigiano Reggiano, not parmesan nor Grana Padano. Being such a simple recipe it relies on great ingredients, so don’t be cheap and buy the real thing. It’s called Parmigiano Reggiano, it’s made in Italy and there is nothing like it. Ask chef Massimo Bottura.

Ingredients:

• 230g of Pasta (here I used fresh egg Lumache, but dry pasta works just as good)
• 50g Unsalted Butter
• 50g Black Summer Truffles
• 150g Parmigiano Reggiano

Start putting a large pot full of water over the stove and bring it to boil. Meanwhile prepare the ingredients. Grate the Parmigiano and keep it on the side. Take a metal bowl, drop the butter in and place the bowl over the water, the heat will melt the butter without bringing the temperature too much up. On the side, shave the fresh truffles in very thin slices and drop them in the melted butter after taking the bowl off the pot. Makes sure the butter covers the truffles and locks in the flavor.

Cook the pasta “al dente”, drain it and save some of the cooking water, about 1 cup. You’ll need it in a bit. Follow these steps and you’ll have an amazing cream of Parmigiano.

Drop the pasta in the bowl and stir it to nicely coat each piece of it with the truffle butter we just made. Drop 3/4 of the grated Parmigiano in the bowl and stir it. You should obtain a very thick and dry pasta. And here is how the magic happens… Start adding little of the cooking water to the bowl and keep stirring. The heat of the water will slowly start to melt the cheese. As the cheese melts, keep an eye on it. If it’s too liquid, add more parmigiano, if too thick, add more water.

Once the right consistency and creaminess is achieved your pasta is ready. Sprinkle it with some fresh Parmigiano, more shaved truffle and bring it to the table. What’s for dinner, Ale?