I’m talking about the savoury mushroomy things that pigs hunt for, not the chocolates. I love truffle anything and if it’s on a menu I’m likely to order it. I first experienced them at a small vegetarian restaurant in Florence many years ago, which I think has closed down now. It was just fresh pasta with truffle, nothing else, but it was the most expensive dish on the menu and the intense flavour of those truffles blew me away.
I’m more likely to use truffle oil in my own cooking. It’s not cheap but you don’t need much to release the heady scent and give a dish a touch of luxury. Try it on pasta, risotto, pizza or on mashed potato – there’s even a recipe coming in Hearty Vegan which uses it on fries. Bliss.
I also bought some truffle salt in an amazing shop in Portland on our trip. Actually that shop could be a post all on its own, but the salt is highly flavoured with truffle. So far I’ve only used it on some stuffed pasta but I will be trying to use it more in coming weeks because I don’t want it to lose its intense flavour.
Don’t be fooled into buying those little jars of truffles by the way, the ones you sometimes see in the “Finest” section of supermarkets. They don’t taste of anything and you’re far better off with a little bottle of the oil or the salt. Or if you get your hands on a fresh one, I want an invite.
Cooking the Vegan Books 
I sooo have to get some truffle oil. I’m gonna hint massively to my friends and family around xmas time. Which is now right?
Fred is not a truffle fan, so next time we meet you and I can have them all to ourselves!!
Oh yum. and yes truffle oil eleveates anything togourmet!
I can’t remember if I’ve ever had truffles before. Maybe on a pizza? I always see the oil at the store so I think I’ll get some next time.
Truffle oil isn’t usually really truffles. It’s usually a chemical that is made to smell like truffles–you can tell by the ingredients list. If it says truffle aroma, that is the chemical. Truffle salt actually has truffle, though. I like it on mashed caulipots.
You can usually tell by the price too! Mine’s a little tiny bottle but it lasts for ages.
We had some roasted fingerlings with truffle oil at Horizons. They were amazing– you should do Philadelphia!
I remember having a few conversations about truffles. Since pigs are used in the industry, most of the vegans I spoke to considered them part of the exploitation of animals, and thus non-vegan. It’s correct that truffle oil doesn’t contain actual truffles, so I suppose that’s fine.
I love truffle oil too, there’s a pasta dish on the menu at Zilli Green with mushrooms and truffle oil and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.