I was wondering what to do with my beautiful sage green princess pumpkin after both Halloween and Thanksgiving had passed, when I remembered a recipe I saw for Pumpkin Bisque with Foie Gras and White Truffle Oil. Though I modified the recipe here and there, I was thrilled with the result. Since I generally do not measure seasoning, and the measurements listed are a guess of what I actually used, you’ll need to adjust to your own taste.
The recipe was quick and easy to prepare, once the pumpkin was peeled and diced (that was the most time consuming part). The seared foie gras and truffle oil add a layer of complexity to the soup, though it could be enjoyed without the foie gras or truffle oil.
Here are the basic ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks, sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
8 cups diced peeled pumpkin (or use another winter squash)
Melt the butter in a medium soup pot. Add leeks and garlic and cook over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the diced pumpkin, herbs and spices, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the coconut milk to the soup and puree in a blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot and add the brandy. Adjust the seasoning the taste. Keep warm on stove.
Heat a heavy saute pan on medium high heat. Season the foie gras with salt and fresh ground pepper. Sear the foie gras cubes, or foie gras medallions on all sides until brown outside, but just cooked inside (still pink, but not raw).
To serve, pour the soup into warmed soup bowls, top with a drizzle of truffle oil, then place the foie gras cubes or medallion on the top of the soup.
Easy recipe for black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles. Duck breast salad with black truffles, currants, walnuts, Pont l’Eveque, and port reduction. This is a cooking demonstration video highlighting fresh black truffle mushrooms from the Perigord in France. The recipe is Muscovy Duck Salad with Black Truffle, Pont lEveque, Currants, and Port Reduction, from the cookbook Charlie Trotters Meat and Game. The preparation is not difficult, particularly if you have a wine or port reduction already made. The duck breast used in the video is a moulard duck breast, magret de canard, which is scored on the fat side before searing. The salad consists of sliced duck breast (cooked rare), baby greens such as mache dressed with walnut oil and sherry vinegar, toasted walnuts, currants, toasted nut bread with a slice of Pont l-Eveque cheese, a drizzle of port reduction, and fresh black truffle slices, which are heated in olive oil over low heat prior to serving. The combination of ingredients in this delightful salad are perfect with the fresh black truffles. (more…)
This is a cooking demonstration video highlighting fresh black truffle mushrooms from the Perigord in France. This recipe for scallop truffle Napoleon with creamed leeks is from the cookbook Truffles, Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure by Rosariio Safina and Judith Sutton.
This recipe is easy to make and really showcases the wonderful black truffle flavor. A slice of truffle is inserted into the cut center of each scallop and refrigerated for one or two hours, which allows the truffle flavor to permeate the scallop.
Once seared, the scallops are placed on a bed of braised or creamed leeks, and finished with a generous amount of minced black truffles.
Quick overview on black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles from Perigord, France cost and size. 1 oz black truffle, 2 oz black truffle shown.
This video shows two ripe fresh black truffles from the Perigord in France; one truffle is one ounce and the other is two ounces. If you wanted to buy truffles online, a one-ounce black truffle would sell for between $90 – $150 and the two-ounce black truffle would sell for between $160 – $300. Truffle prices vary by the week, based on supply and demand.
Recipe ideas for black truffle mushrooms/black winter truffles. Several cookbooks are shown with best truffle recipes for Perigord black truffles.
Perigord black truffles from France are in season late November through mid March, and usually reach their peak of maturity in January and February. Look for black truffle mushrooms that are black inside, with white veins, firm to touch; never spongy.
Black winter truffles are the only truffles that are best enjoyed heated or cooked. The heating process intensifies the wonderful truffle flavor and aroma that is unique to black winter truffles. All other popular truffle varieties such as Alba white truffles, burgundy truffles, and summer truffles are best served raw.
Black truffles last longer than white truffles, stored properly, fresh black truffles will last for a week to ten days. The black truffles should be wrapped in a paper towel and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The towel should be changed daily or as need to keep the truffles dry.
This video shows recipe ideas and cooking tips for black truffle mushrooms. Highlighted recipes are truffle omelet, chicken in half mourning (truffled chicken), scallop truffle Napoleon with creamed leeks, potato and truffle torte with veal stock reduction, braised sweetbreads wrapped in black truffles and monkfish wrapped in black truffles and pancetta and truffle sauce.
Fresh black truffle mushrooms from Perigord, France are the best truffles, black interior indicates maturity and peak truffle flavor and aroma.
Perigord black truffles from France are in season late November through mid March, and usually reach their peak of maturity in January and February. Look for black truffle mushrooms that are black inside, with white veins, firm to touch; never spongy.
Black winter truffles are the only truffles that are best enjoyed heated or cooked. The heating process intensifies the wonderful truffle flavor and aroma that is unique to black winter truffles. All other popular truffle varieties such as Alba white truffles, burgundy truffles, and summer truffles are best served raw.
Black truffles last longer than white truffles, stored properly, fresh black truffles will last for a week to ten days. The black truffles should be wrapped in a paper towel and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The towel should be changed daily or as need to keep the truffles dry.
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal published an article about Black River Caviar’s amazing success story. The article, titled, “Caviar Dreams, In the quest to replicate the richness of wild caviar, one aquaculture farm in Uruguay is perfecting the product”, details how Black River Caviar began.
The business plan was created decades ago, and in 1992 fertilized Siberian sturgeon roe were imported to Uruguay where the sturgeon farm is currently located. It takes at least seven years for sturgeon to produce roe that will be harvested and sold as Black River Caviar. Wild sturgeon roe is known for its depth in flavor and cleanliness, and Black River Caviar set out to produce a caviar product through their innovative aquaculture facility that reproduces the distinct wild roe flavor.
“We call it wild raised,” Black River Caviar CEO Graham Gaspard says. Like cattle that wander the open, but fenced, plains of Montana, these fish lead a replica of real life, following their natural reproductive cycle. “When it’s time to swim upstream to spawn, we increase the water flow in the canals to simulate a return to the river,” Gaspard says.
The Wall Street Journal article describes Black River Caviar’s ossetra caviar as follows: “The buttery globules are firm enough to roll over the palate, each revealing its perfectly round shape, but they dissolve with the slightest pressure into a soft cream with hints of nuts, salt and freshwater.”
Black River Caviar truly produces a remarkable, sustainable osetra caviar. To read the entire article, go to: WSJ.com.
To buy caviar online, please visit our website www.mirepoixusa.com.
Black River Caviar's aquaculture facility in Uruguay
Black truffles from the Perigord region in France are now reaching maturity and will continue to improve in flavor and aroma through January and February.
Truffles are a type of mushroom that grows within the root structure of certain varieties of trees. There are over 70 varieties of truffles, but the most sought after varieties include summer truffles, Burgundy truffles, white truffles (Alba truffles), and black winter or Perigord truffles.
Black winter truffles, also known as Perigord truffles, are highly aromatic and have a distinct earthy flavor. When mature, black winter truffles should be charcoal to black inside with white veins. They should be firm; never spongy.
Black truffles from the Perigord region in France are in season from late November until mid March, and reach the peak of maturity in January and February. Prices change weekly, based on supply and demand. Because black truffles are popular on holiday menus, the prices tend to spike during the month of December, and especially for Christmas and New Years.
Perigord black truffles are best when cooked because the heating process releases the wonderful truffle flavor. A black truffle omelette is a simple, but wonderful way to experience the true flavor of black winter truffles. Other popular recipes include Pommes Salardaises, and chicken in half mourning (truffled chicken). A good version of these three classic truffle recipes can be found in the cookbook, Saveur Cooks or on our website www.mirepoixusa.com.
Some additional cookbooks which feature multiple black truffle recipes include Caviar, Truffles and Foie Gras, by Katherine Alford, Truffles, Ultimate Luxury Everyday Pleasure, by Rosario Safina and Judith Sutton, Charlie Trotter’s, and Jean-Louis, Cooking with the Seasons, by Fred Maroon.
Truffles should be brushed lightly to remove any dirt. The skin of the truffle can be peeled or left intact. Truffles are usually sliced very thin, with a sharp knife or truffle shaver.
Store black truffles in an airtight container, wrapped in a paper towel to absorb the moisture. The towel should be changed daily, or as needed. Black truffles are best consumed within a week to ten days after being harvested. It’s best not to store black truffles (or any type of truffle mushroom) in rice, because the rice can dry out the truffle, and there is little benefit in perfuming the rice with the truffle aroma.
For more information about black truffle mushrooms, truffle recipes, or to buy truffles, please visit our website.
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