Langhe, Alba, Piedmont
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.
Paper-thin golden egg pasta in brown butter, receiving the shaving of the world's most aromatic truffle — a dish of spectacular minimalism that only works with perfect ingredients
{"Egg yolk-only dough: 30 yolks per 1kg flour — the extraordinary yolk count is non-negotiable for the characteristic colour and richness","Rest minimum 1 hour wrapped tightly — the gluten must relax or rolling becomes impossible","Roll to the thinnest possible setting (transparent but intact); cut into 2mm ribbons with a sharp knife","Cook 60–90 seconds in boiling salted water; drain slightly wet and add directly to warm melted butter pan","Truffle shaved with a mandoline-style truffle slicer directly at the table over the plated pasta"}
{"The butter used must be high-fat (82%+) Piemontese butter, slightly browned to noisette to add a nutty sweetness","White truffle from Alba (October–November) is non-substitutable; black truffle produces a completely different dish","The pasta-to-truffle ratio: 5g of truffle per 100g pasta is the minimum for a meaningful experience"}
{"Whole eggs in the dough — reduces the golden colour and richness","Cooking the truffle at any point — the volatile compounds that give white truffle its character evaporate above 50°C","Over-salting the pasta water — the truffle will be overwhelmed"}
La Cucina del Piemonte — Giovanni Goria