Divya Gugnani: Hi, I’m Divya Gugnani.
Caroline McBride: I’m Caroline Alexa McBride.
Divya Gugnani: And we’re here at the Little Owl restaurant in Greenwich Village, New York. Native New Yorkers know that with only 32 seats getting a table here is a near impossible task. But today with Behind the Burner we give you a front row seat as we add a truffle of importer and expert to the mix and give you the inside scoop on the elusive world of truffles. Let’s go inside.
Caroline McBride: We are honored to be joined by truffle expert and truffle importer Vincent Jeansaume. He’s going to help us uncover the secrets behind the mysterious little truffle. Vincent can you explain what exactly is a truffle.
Vincent Jeansaume Basically, a truffle is a delicacy mushroom that grows on the soil and as you know we brought many here, as you can see and like mushroom truffle do not have any stem. So it’s got a little bit of an odd potato shape with just kind of a rough skin and it does grows on the soil and it’s a delicacy mushroom that’s pretty much what a truffle would be.
Caroline McBride: Well they are amazing and I can not wait to try them and taste them.
Vincent Jeansaume: Neither can I.
Caroline McBride: So it’s time to go behind the burner and see what Divya and Joey are up to in the kitchen.
Divya Gugnani: I'm here at the Little Owl with chef and owner Joey Campanaro and he’s going to tell us a little bit about truffles. So Joey tell us when did you start using truffles in your menus?
Joey Campanaro: Well, I always use truffles first as a cook. And I was always scared of them ‘cause everybody always says that truffles are so expensive thing, it’s so expensive and you have to use it sparingly ‘because it can ruin a dish or it can make a dish.
Divya Gugnani: So Joey what are we making today?
Joey Campanaro: We’re going to make risotto. It’s risotto with the black truffles. So the first thing we’re going to start with is extra virgin olive oil and onion. With every ingredient I add a little bit of salt. So our onions are ready and we’re going to add the Arborio rice. With every ingredient just a little bit of salt.
Divya Gugnani: So add the salt as you go. You kind of season as you’re going?
Joey Campanaro: Yes. And we’re going to add the wine. So that’s the noise we want to hear. And we don’t want to add too much liquid at a time, just a little bit. So the original liquid has been absorbed, the wine, and so now what we’re going to do is we’re going to add some broth. This is chicken broth. And now we could start putting our other ingredients into the risotto.
Divya Gugnani: So English peas.
Joey Campanaro: That’s the English peas, of course lobster meat.
Divya Gugnani: That looks beautiful. Look at those colors.
Joey Campanaro: Our next step for the risotto now is our whole butter so Parmigiano. Now is when we want to really mix the rice ‘because what we’re doing is—
Divya Gugnani: To get the butter incorporated and make sure it melts.
Joey Camapanaro: With the lobster meat.
Divya Gugnani: It looks beautiful.
Joey Campanaro: Thank you.
Divya Gugnani: Nice and creamy.
Joey Campanaro: And a little al dente.
Divya Gugnani: Excellent, good to eat.
Joey Campanaro: Good to go.
Divya Gugnani: So let’s dig in. What a fantastic combination of lobster, fresh peas and truffles. The combination is a true delight.
So thanks for joining us as we took you down to truffle trail and give you the inside scoop on the elusive world of truffles. Take advantage of this special offer from Sabatino Tartufi so you can enjoy this culinary gem in your own home and stay tune to Behind the Burner where we give you the tips, tricks, and techniques that are lighting the culinary world on fire.
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