Koen and I always like to take a souvenir back with us when we travel. Our Florentine souvenir is a white winter truffle!

I should also mention that we didn’t do a lot of research before buying our truffle – meaning once we started packing we weren’t positive it was legal to take a truffle to another country in your personal baggage. Luckily after a lot of Google searches we found out that traveling within the EU it is allowed! Our truffle was also wrapped perfectly for the trip, so the flavor was nice and full once we opened it.

Things to know about white winter truffles:

1. Use them as soon as possible! Even though our truffle was vacuum sealed, it still should be eaten with a week. Once opened, it needs to be eaten within a couple of days. The second day we used the truffle there was already a huge difference from the first day. So if you want to buy a truffle, make sure you already know how you want to prepare it so you buy the perfect size (and also not too early in your trip – save it for the last day if you are taking it home!).
2. A little goes a long way and is best paired with simple buttery, cheesy dishes.
3. Any left over truffle is perfect for creating your own truffle oil and salt.

 

 

As I mentioned above, we ate our white winter truffle over the course of 2 days.

For our first dish we tried to replicate a delicious truffle gnocchi we had in Florence. Koen prepared it with parmesan and creamy gorgonzola accentuated with fresh rosemary – so rich and indulgent!

 

 

 

The second night was my turn. I decided on fresh pasta with herb infused cream and butter, topped with chili pepper flakes and fresh shaved truffle.

 

 

 

For our last day we decided to use the remaining truffle to make our own truffle olive oil. We started by buying a nice Florentine olive oil of course!  It’s quite easy to do yourself. All you need to do is finely slice and chop the truffle, add to the olive oil, and then let it infuse until the taste is perfect. We want to wait at least 6 months so we have a nice strong flavor!