P
Italian · Alba, Piedmont
Tajarin al Tartufo Bianco d'Alba
The egg pasta of the Langhe: tajarin are the thinnest pasta in the Italian canon — a dough of 00 flour with only egg yolks (30+ yolks per kilogram of flour), producing a deeply golden, intensely eggy ribbon no wider than 2mm. Dressed with only butter and a shaving of white Alba truffle grated at the table. Nothing else. The truffle is never cooked — heat destroys the volatile terpenoids; it is shaved directly over the hot pasta where the warmth is sufficient to release the aroma. This dish exists to make the truffle audible.
I
The Market List
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For the dough
1 kg
00 flour
Your own market
30
egg yolks
from large eggs, at room temperature
Your own market
For the dressing
120 g
Piemontese butter
82%+ fat; to be browned to noisette
Your own market
20 g
white Alba truffle
shaved at the table on a mandoline-style truffle slicer; minimum 5 g per 100 g pasta served
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
fine salt
for pasta water; used sparingly
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Mound the flour on a work surface and make a wide well. Add all 30 egg yolks. Work from the centre outward, incorporating the flour gradually until a rough dough forms. Knead firmly for 10–12 minutes until the dough is smooth, supple, and no longer sticky. The dough is ready when it springs back slowly under a pressed thumb.
2
Wrap the dough tightly and rest at room temperature for a minimum of 1 hour. The gluten must fully relax; dough that resists the rolling pin has not rested long enough.
3
Divide the dough into manageable portions. Roll each portion through a pasta machine, reducing the setting progressively to the thinnest possible pass — the sheet should be transparent when held to the light yet remain intact. This is the step where the dish lives or dies: a sheet too thick will make the ribbons doughy and overwhelm the truffle; a sheet torn through will not hold.
4
Flour the sheet lightly and fold loosely. Using a sharp knife, cut into ribbons of no more than 2 mm width. Shake out the ribbons and allow them to rest briefly on a floured surface.
5
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt lightly — the truffle must not be overwhelmed. Cook the tajarin for 60–90 seconds. They are ready when they float and yield with the faintest resistance to the tooth.
6
While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat and continue until it turns golden and smells of toasted hazelnuts — noisette stage. Remove from heat. Drain the tajarin slightly wet and transfer directly to the butter pan. Toss to coat; the pasta should be glossy and unctuous, not pooled in excess butter.
7
Plate immediately. Carry the plated pasta to the table and shave the white Alba truffle directly over each portion using a mandoline-style truffle slicer. The truffle is never introduced to heat: the warmth of the pasta alone is sufficient to release its volatile aroma. The dish is ready when the perfume rises visibly from the plate.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — White Alba truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) at peak season, October–November, sourced directly from a Langhe trifolao; 00 flour stone-milled from soft wheat; Piemontese butter from mountain pasture cream, 84%+ fat.
02
Estate — Certified Alba truffle from a reputable Italian importer; Italian 00 flour from a named mill; high-fat cultured butter (83%) from a single-origin creamery.
03
Market — Good-quality white truffle from a trusted supplier in season; reliable 00 flour; any 82%+ fat unsalted butter.
04
House — The dish cannot be made at the House rung: white truffle from outside the Alba zone, or out of season, or any substitution with black truffle produces a categorically different preparation. Goria's entry does not sanction a substitute.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The rolled sheet is transparent when held to light yet shows no tears or weak points.
◇Touch. The rested dough offers no spring-back resistance when pressed with a rolling pin.
◇Touch. The cooked ribbons yield to the tooth with the faintest resistance — they are not soft through.
◇Smell. The butter smells of toasted hazelnuts, not of raw dairy and not of scorched fat.
◇Smell. At table, the volatile aroma of the truffle rises from the plate within seconds of shaving — the signal that the dish is alive.
◇Where it lives or dies. The sheet must reach the thinnest possible setting — transparent but intact — because a ribbon even fractionally too thick will mute the truffle and collapse the dish's entire logic of minimalism.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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