Tagliatelle al Tartufo Bianco di Acqualagna — Egg Pasta with White Truffle

Acqualagna, Pesaro-Urbino province, Marche — the white truffle of Acqualagna (Tuber magnatum pico) is equal in quality to the Alba truffle and significantly less expensive. The Acqualagna truffle fiera (fair) occurs in October-November each year. The town claims the highest density of white truffle production in Italy.

Acqualagna, in the Metauro valley of the Pesaro-Urbino province, is one of Italy's two great white truffle centres (alongside Alba in Piedmont) — producing Tuber magnatum pico from October through January in the oak and poplar forests of the northern Marche Apennines. The definitive preparation is the simplest: freshly made egg tagliatelle tossed with good butter and a thread of the best available olive oil, finished with a generous shaving of Acqualagna white truffle at the table. No cheese, no garlic, no further seasoning — the truffle is the entire preparation. The pasta must be delicate enough not to compete; the butter must be of excellent quality; the truffle must be shaved at the last moment.

Tagliatelle al tartufo bianco di Acqualagna at the table — the truffle shaved at the last moment, each slice translucent, the fragrance immediately filling the room — is one of the most intense flavour experiences available in Italian cooking. The butter provides the medium; the pasta provides the vehicle; everything else is the truffle. Nothing else is needed.