This Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce is inspired by Istrian cuisine, Croatia. It is easy and quick to make, but it is perfectly creamy and delivers a terrific flavour profile!
Hey folks! How are you doing? Are you ready for the weekend? (I know, silly question!)
Also, are you planning any traveling this year? And to answer my own question, that would be an exciting “Yes!” We are going to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg soon. In fact, in exactly three weeks we will be on our way to Amsterdam – where our three-week vacation begins. So exciting! (Although, we will unlikely see any street cats, like in Croatia last year.)
Speaking of Croatia, I have previously shared one delicious recipe from its cuisine – Ajvar – Balkan Pepper Spread. And I still have a few other in my sleeve, including this terrific pasta.
Black Truffles & Tartufata
Istria, Croatia is famous for its black truffles, so there is no surprise truffles are a common ingredient in many recipes. If you have visited Croatia, particularly Istria, it is unlikely that missed pasta or risotto with local truffles.
Perhaps the most prominent dish would be Istrian Fuži with Black Truffle Cream Sauce. It is made with fuži (pasta shape), which ideally should be made from scratch and tartufata – a black truffle paste.
High-quality (and hence, quite pricy) tartufata is made with only a few ingredients such as grated truffles and olive oil, as well as aromatics like garlic and herbs. There are cheaper sauces that use other ingredients like mushrooms, black olives, and breadcrumbs – so if you are choosing one, I would suggest you to pick a good stuff.
Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce
I will not call this pasta the Istrian recipe because a) I did not use fuži and b) tartufata. However, it is heavily inspired by the traditional recipe – and I also made it with Istrian truffles we brought from our trip! (And yes, to clarify, I made this recipe nearly a year ago.)
But you do not need to have a black truffle paste to enjoy the flavour of Istria! You can easily make it – well, as long as you’ve got a few black truffles. Easy task :) I must say, though, that using both truffle paste and truffles create a prominent flavour profile. So if you are working with only fresh truffles, the flavour will be a little less pronounced.
Besides black truffles, you will need some cream, butter, olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper, and parmesan (optional).
It is so, so good!
I hope you like this Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce, and you will make it a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.
Cheers!
Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce
4
servings5
minutes20
minutesA tasty pasta dish with a creamy black truffle sauce, inspired by the Croatian traditions, and made with famous Istrian black truffles.
Keep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
400 gr. pasta of choice, short pasta like penne or fusilli are good options
2-3 large whole black truffles, divided
2/3 cup (160 ml) heavy cream (35%) – although you can take 18% or so for a lighter version
2-3 tbsp. (30-45 gr.) butter
1 garlic clove, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
parmesan, optional, for serving
Directions
- Thinly slice one of the truffles and set aside. Finely mince the remaining 1 or 2.
- In a large heavy skillet, combine the butter and olive oil over low-medium heat and cook the garlic, just for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Stir in the finely minced truffle and cream and let it simmer for a few minutes to thicken up. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- In a meantime, cook the pasta in salted boiling water, until al dente. Reserve a bit of pasta water and drain.
- Add the drained pasta into the sauce and let it simmer for a minute or so. If the sauce seems to be too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Just before serving, sprinkle with the parmesan if desired and garnish with the reserved truffle shavings. Enjoy!
Notes
- Parsley is not a traditional ingredient, and I only added it for colour. You can omit it.
I have never seen a black truffle (a white truffle) in Tucson! This sounds absolutely incredible, and worth finding the truffles. Have a wonderful trip, Ben! Yes, we are traveling soon… Paris for two weeks and then the Loire Valley for a week. Can’t wait! Probably no truffles but I will look!
Thank you David!
Wow! This is another food we both love; there are no “moderate” truffle eaters. You adore it or not! Obviously, we adore it. With a good reason!
Thanks Davorka!
Your Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce recipe sounds absolutely divine! I love how you’ve drawn inspiration from Istrian cuisine and incorporated the luxurious flavors of black truffles into a creamy, indulgent sauce. So lovin this recipe
Thanks Raymund!
You’re talking my kind of language with this truffle pasta, Ben! We went truffle hunting in Italy a few years back, and it was one of the coolest experiences of our lives. I’m definitely making this one!
In other news, have fun in Amsterdam and Belgium! Make sure to eat lots and lots of Belgian waffles and Belgian frites. :-) Oh, and if you’re looking for a place to eat in Amsterdam, check out Casa di David. It’s a favorite of ours! (Heads up – you might need to swing by early in the trip and make reservations for another night.) Have fun!!
Fun fact: I never tried Belgium waffles (I know, embarrassing lol)
Thanks David!
The photos from the trip you and Andrew took to Croatia made me really want to go there. And this pasta is making me swoon all over again! Look at those gorgeous truffles. This pasta dish looks perfectly luscious.
Thank you Marissa!
What a delicious pasta, infused with so many rice, delicious flavors! I’ll have to travel vicariously through you!
Thank you Michelle!
Oh to have access to 2 or 3 truffles…that sounds like heaven.
Thank you Karen!
Although I do love truffles it is something that a little goes a long way for me and JT even less. But I agree with Jeff, this could be an incredible dish with some wild mushrooms. We just got back from wintering in Spain and a short trip to Turkey, Greece, England and Ireland. It was nice to be away for February and March to miss winter. Although there wasn’t much to miss this year but it was sure nice to have the sunshine of Spain. Hope you have a lovely holiday in Northern Europe, perhaps by then it should warm up!
Thank you Eva!
I’m afriad you’ve hit on one of the very few foods that doesn’t get along with me, truffle. I’ll bet I could make this delicious-looking dish with another mushroom, though.
We all are entitled for things we like and not so much :) Thanks Jeff!
Ben, thanks for sharing this delicious Pasta with Black Truffle Sauce recipe inspired by Istrian cuisine. I appreciate your detailed guidance and the insights on using high-quality ingredients to capture the essence of the region’s flavors. It’s great to see your enthusiasm and personal travel stories enrich the recipe’s context. However, consider specifying alternative pasta shapes that could also work well with the sauce for those who might not have access to traditional fuži. Looking forward to trying this at home!
Thank you! I hope you like it.
Beautiful. I’ve never had my own truffles. I really need to buy some!
Thank you Mimi!
Hello, Ben. An excellent pasta recipe. You just have to adapt the ingredients that provide flavor to the amount of pasta chosen. Easy and rich preparation.
Happy weekend.
Thank you Emma!
Truffles? Not sure I’ve had them before, maybe just truffle oil. Are they as good as they say? :=)
Thank you Sherry!
The sauce makes the dish.This looks amazing, Ben.
Thanks Angie!
We will be in Umbria next week which is known for its truffles. I shall make a version of this while we are there.
Thanks Tandy!