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1
Place a small pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and allow it to melt without colouring — the butter should foam gently. If it browns, the heat is too high.
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2
Crack the egg into the pan. Add one tablespoon of water immediately, then cover with a lid. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the lid is delayed and the white has already begun to set by direct heat, the steam will over-cook the yolk before the white is fully opaque — there is no recovery from this error.
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3
Cook over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes. The trapped steam sets the white from above; the direct heat sets it from below. Remove the lid and examine: the white must be just opaque throughout with no translucent patch around the yolk, and the yolk must be visibly liquid — it will continue to set for 30 seconds off the heat.
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4
Season the white lightly with salt. Slide onto a warmed plate immediately.
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5
At the table, shave fresh Alba white truffle generously over the egg — 5–10 g per portion. The truffle's volatile aromatics dissipate within seconds of shaving; the guest must eat without delay. The yolk, when broken, flows and carries the truffle's fat-soluble aromatics directly to the palate.