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Online reviews |
In this first volume, White Truffle Utopia, Carlo Cracco, owner of the refined Cracco-Peck restaurant in Milan, introduces us to his personal view of the white truffle. Even the writer Cesare Pavese has been bothered to place the white truffle in the misty setting of the Langhe, where it usually lives; and a well-known artist, Claudio Papola, has conceived an original work, also included in the volume, which gives the white truffle utopia a complex visual representation. The white truffle is an utopia because, as Carlo Cracco says: "you know it but you can't define it, you perceive it but you don't succeed in savouring it, you draw near to it but don't grasp its soul. Phoenix of international gastronomy, utopia of the senses, the white truffle is essentially scent, and only thereafter taste". The recipes are deeply rooted in history: a letter of Count De Borch explains Monsieur le Marquis de Balbian, Capitaine Majeur in the Guards Regiment of His Majesty the King of Sardinia, how truffles are found and dug up by "peasants and vagabonds, poachers paid by those who monopolise the trade…". The senses are awakened: The Centro Studi Assaggiatori informs us that the sense of smell "is able to recognise more than 400 000 different sensations". Eggs and white truffles, Creamy risotto with parmesan and white truffle of Alba, Gnocchi of potato, hazelnut and white truffle, Flan of mascarpone, crispy potatoes and truffles. Each recipe is introduced by a short explanation of the reasons lying behind the techniques ("The cooking method is again steaming: the technique closest to the idea of scent and that in itself has something of the magical and mysterious") and of the choice of ingredients ("the secret lies in the choice of dense potatoes that enable little flour to be used. The French ratte potatoes are ideal…"). All these elements compose a sort of "object-book" to give as a present or to enjoy in your library or in your kitchen. You can also frame the artwork contained in it, but above all you will be thanked for it by the guests you have astonished with a gastronomic exploit, simple from a technical point of view but absolutely refined, thanks to the expert guide of Carlo Cracco. |
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