Pappardelline al tartufo
As past of his big Christmas dried goods haul, my father brought a really expensive and really small package of truffle pasta. I struggled thinking about it for a few weeks -- at the same time I wanted to try it, I knew it would be barely enough to feed the three of us.
I served the pasta following the suggestion on the package: with a simple butter sauce, made a little richer thanks to a truffled olive oil that was lying forgotten in the pantry. The pappardelline was very delicate and I felt I did justice to such an expensive ingredient. In spite of my satisfaction, my father thought it was lacking flavor, and ate what little was left with the minced meat tomato sauce my mom had made for another dish.