A Hidden Jewel

The Year of Awareness

Prologue

January was for us like a Sunday for most of you. A time to rest and to accumulate energy for a new beginning. We are excited for all the ideas and projects we have for 2013 and hope to be able and in good health to put them into practice.

Above all, we want to dedicate this year to a remarkable concept – Awareness (consapevolezza in Italian). There will be twelve posts, like the months of the year - each one will introduce you to an aspect of #awareness/#consapevolezza and will unveil, little by little, our plans for this year.

Awareness has its roots “into the night of times” so to speak, in a word of the primordial language that experts believe was spoken about 5000 years ago on our Continent: “wer” meaning to cover, to shut, to seal. Making a long story short, to be aware means to be alert to what is not obvious to one’s sight and work to uncover what is significant and profound.

On the other side, consapevolezza (from Latin “cum”=insieme=together & “sapere” = knowledge) implies a relation, somehow a social communication (reinforced by deep listening and emotional intelligence) that leads to profound knowledge.

Together, sharing ideas, impressions, thoughts and believes, we will discover what is hidden and enjoy the world in 2013 with …eyes wide open.

The First Circle: A hidden jewel – the truffle

Few of you know that Il Poggio alle Ville is also a good place for truffles. Just because the area (in Italian called la tartufaia) is hidden from where most of the fun takes place (the pools, the football field, the dining room). And for this reason it needs to be explored – with patience and dedication.

Oak trees in our tartufaia in Mugello

Nearly twenty years ago, Raffaele’s father, knowing the qualities of the soil around(rich in limestone), decided to plant certain trees (especially oak trees) that would favour the growth of truffles. Also, by the bed of a small river that dried up, many poplar trees grow wild, creating a wonderful path for walks and a fertile area for truffles as well.

Poplar trees

Truffles are covered in mystery. No one can ever be certain when and where exactly they will grow. Or how big, or how tasty. Nature plays a significant part in the creation of this incredibly appreciated and venerated ingredient for so many recipes. Indeed, truffles were already known to Romans (although in those times they imported them from Africa…). It became widely known in Europe during the Renaissance. From the famous poet Petrarca to Lucrezia Borgia, the appreciations for this tuber are innumerable.  It was however Caterina de’ Medici, with a passion for refined dishes, who played a crucial role in making the truffle a prince of the haute cuisine.  Caterina brought along to the court of Henry II “masters of cooking and pastry”, her Tuscan culture thus influencing the French one. At that time, truffles were found by wild boars who, even though running away from hunters, would suddenly stop to dig a hole, attracted by the unique strong smell of these amazing precious tubers, without doubt a feast for them too.

Nowadays, truffle hunters would rely on a dog’s help. Most often than not, just a “normal” dog, no pedigree, no special breed. We still have our old Punto, a Lagotto (Italian breed, with a particular nose for truffles). Punto was always a playful dog, more interested in running around than searching. Now he is too old to concentrate on the work to be done so next year we plan to have a younger companion for him.

Our dear Punto

In the tartufaia of Poggio alle Ville in Mugello, we mostly find marzuolo, a kind of truffle (looks like a combination of black and white truffle) growing in between end of January and late March (hence the name).

Small but so tasty - marzuolo truffles February 2013

Once in a while we find some valuable white truffles and sometimes the black summer truffle (scorzone). So there is hope for more surprises!

What about tasting truffles?! We would like to share with you three recipes. 

The most simple one is, believe it or not, truffles on scrambled eggs! 

Tartufo sull’uovo strapazzato.

simple scrambled eggs with truffles

If you are a pasta lover, then do use tagliolini freschi all’uovo. When you drain the water, make sure to leave just a few more drops so that they don’t dry out. Mix them with melted butter (if truffles are fresh use simple butter; if they seem too watery and less perfumed you might use truffled butter, but make sure you buy a high quality one).

fresh tagliolini with truffles

A less common but simple way is to make some savoury crostini.

• 80gr of butter
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 salty anchovy (remove the fishbone and rinse a bit with cold water)

Finely cut the garlic & anchovy. Melt half of the butter in a little pan and add the garlic&anchovy mix. Cook for 2 minutes on a low flame. Add the grated truffle. Cook for 7-8 more minutes while stirring gently.

Use the rest of the butter to toast 10 slices of bread in a pan. (Of course, for a lighter version, toast the bread normally).

When ready put the truffle cream on and the serve the crostini while still warm.

truffle crostini on a plate with the Medici coat of arms

As any other jewel, truffles must be handled with care – when cleaned and washed with a little brush (a soft tooth brush would do) or when finely grated with the special tool.

We hope to welcome you on a sunny winter/spring day and spend some time together while “hunting for truffles”, breathing the clean air, admiring the wild nature, watching the dogs, telling you more stories and feeling happy even when we don’t find anything or just enough for a small tasting. 
At the moment we are working on a better website - this is just to give you an idea of the place: http://poggioalleville.it/