White truffle star of summertime tables
The white summer truffle (Tuber Aestivum) is harvested from April-May to end August. Not to be mixed up with its friend the black truffle (Périgord truffle - Tuber Melanosporum). The white truffle is only visible during the summer season and cannot stand cooking. It is eaten raw and grated exclusively.
Today, it has become a highly-desirable product for its mild taste and finesse on the palate, yet was ignored for ever-so long and used solely for training truffle dogs and for feeding pigs.
Chef Christophe Maury from Le Bouilhac Restaurant invites you to discover a recipe centre-staging summer truffles served with poached egg en Meurette (red wine sauce), duck foie gras and goat’s milk curd from the region.
Recipe
Ingredients for 6 people
Red wine Meurette
• 0.75 cl red wine
• 1 red onion
• 100 g carrots
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1 garlic clove
Fresh duck foie gras
• 6 thick escalopes of duck foie gras
• 6 slices of country-style bread toasted and rubbed with garlic
Mixed baby sprout salad
• 125 g mixed baby sprouts (organic sunflower, peas, radish…)
• 1 tablespoon walnut oil
• 20 g summer truffle Tuber Aestivum
• Salt
• AOP (PDO) Espelette pepper
Fresh goat’s cheese
• 10 g fresh goat’s cheese curd-like (Chef’s tip: Laure Fourgeaud’s cheeses, Ferme du Chatain in Dordogne
Preparation
En Meurette cooking :
En Meurette cooking, the most delicate step of the recipe ©Restaurant le Bouilhac
Make red wine stock by sweating the sliced onions and carrots in a dollop of butter Moisten with the red wine and add the crushed garlic clove and bouquet garni.
Cook covered over a gentle heat for 30 minutes. Filter the stock and pour into a sauté dish or large casserole.
Break the eggs one-by-one into a recipient and poach them for 3 minutes in the stock. Place them on a paper towel and clean around the edges if necessary. Use a skimmer to remove any egg white remaining in the pan and reduce the stock by half. Whisk in the butter and correct seasoning if need be.
Keep the sauce warm.
Garnish
The flavour of the fresh goat’s cheese is enhanced by the Espelette pepper, the walnut oil and the truffle ©Restaurant le Bouilhac
Season the fresh goat’s cheese with a few truffle ribbons, a drizzle of walnut oil, salt and AOP (PDO) Espelette pepper.
Mix the baby sprouts gently with a drizzle of walnut oil.
Cooking the foie gras:
Pan-sear the foie gras. Keep warm on a paper towel
Presentation:
The finished dish, beautifully presented by Chef Maury ©Restaurant le Bouilhac
Take a flat dish (or family-style dish), place the garlic-rubbed country-style toasts in it, cover each slice with a foie gras escalope and then set a poached egg on top.
Add the salad as a side garnish, with the fresh goat’s cheese and the fine truffle ribbons.
Drizzle over with hot sauce.
The restaurant dining area: a cosy setting under the vaults of the castle ©Le restaurant de Bouilhac
Christophe Maury officiates in the Restaurant de Bouilhac in Montignac in Dordogne, not far from Lascaux In his establishment, he centre stages Périgord gastronomy and producers. Flavoursome, bold, gastronomic cuisine in an exceptional setting.
Restaurant de Bouilhac: open 7d/7 all year round, except at lunchtime. Open Sunday lunchtime and evening.
