I never thought it would be possible to eat a meal with too much truffle. I never thought it would be possible for me, a glutton at heart, to eat a dish that made me say mercy. I never thought I would have to worry about telling a Michelin star chef that I could not eat another dish of his food, without needing a defibrillator at the end.
But, this is what happened at the end of our meal at Amerigo dal 1934, in Savigno, Italy, when Chef Bettini’s famous truffle egg was placed on the table in front of us.
Learning How to Make a Truffle Egg
We saw how the truffle egg was prepared, during our Yummy Italy cooking class, demonstrating how unique of a dish it was. Egg whites were whipped up, almost to the point of merengue consistency. The fluffed egg whites were placed inside a metal tin, similar to a singular muffin tin. A deep orange egg yolk was placed inside, and additional egg whites were placed on top, making a true muffin shaped concoction.
After baking for just a few minutes, the warmed egg dish was topped with layers upon layers of decadent white truffles. At the table, we cut into the truffle egg, to see the layers of bright white and golden yellow, as the egg yolk spread out of the muffin shape and onto the plate.
This was Amerigo’s truffle egg for 2014. Chef Bettini prepares a new version each year.
On this night, the truffle egg was served alongside another truffle egg. This was an egg, wrapped inside potato and covered with, you guessed it, white truffles.
Crying Mercy Because of a Truffle Egg
I truly believe that on its own this dish would be impeccable, and simply amazing. After a poor man’s mushroom lasagna, a passatelli with white truffles, and a gnocchi with truffles, at the end of a very long day involving a wine tasting lunch and a truffle hunt through the hills, it was just too much.
I wondered if my foodie badge would be stripped away. From that night, Eric banned any discussion of the word truffles from our conversation, a ban that continues until today. I am hoping he will reconsider his stance before we arrive back in Italy this summer.
A decadent dish in its own right, I would love to return to Amerigo to eat a meal which involved the truffle egg, perhaps to share, along side some other non-truffle related dishes. To have the truffle egg, as the fourth carb filled dish of the night, though, was too much. In fact, it was the truffle egg that did us in. Yes, there is such a thing as too much truffles.
Planning a Trip to Emilia Romagna?
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Amber Hoffman, food and travel writer behind With Husband In Tow, is a recovering attorney and professional eater, with a passion for finding new food and drink destinations. She lives with her husband, Eric, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Together they have traveled to over 70 countries.
To me it sounds more than amazing…I would love to try it, cook it, eat it.
I think you might be able to find a YouTube video of how to make something similar. If you try it, send me a photo to FB or Twitter! Would love to see it.
This looks so so good!
Could you tell me approx. how long the egg cooked?
That’s a really good question, and I am not sure Charlie. They baked it in an oven, and I believe it was not long, maybe a few minutes, but I don’t remember specifically. Sorry.