The Artesan - Truffles no trifle

BY COLLEEN SIMPSON

Hugo, an exuberant German short-haired pointer, really likes the cheese morsels that he knows are hiding in his owner Jeff Weston's pocket so, head down bottom up, he goes about his work.

Hugo is a highly-trained truffle dog and his job is to catch a whiff of the underground treasures so Jeff can carefully dig them out to dispatch to grateful chefs around the country.

Jeff, a landscape architect by trade, and his family moved from Beckenham 10 years ago and he now spends his days tending to his West Melton truffiere.

"I grew up in Hoon Hay when the surrounding areas were all farm land," he says. "I used to go out hunting for mushrooms and other wild foods. So I suppose I love being in touch with the environment, the climate and seasons and all that."

He planted his first trees, oak and hazel, in 2002 and more two years later, but it was 5 1/2 years before he got his first truffle harvest - a triumphant moment as his hard work was realised.

Now, on a 7-hectare plot of land, he tends to hundreds of trees, including 320 recently planted truffle-infected pine saplings. He painstakingly makes sure they have just the right amount of trace minerals - too much and the truffle spore can be killed off.

Truffles grown at Borchii Park are the bianchetto white truffle which is said to bear strong resemblance in both appearance and smell to the eye-wateringly expensive Italian white variety.

Harvested in late winter and early spring, Jeff's white truffles are the result of many years of hard work and patience.

This year has brought Jeff's third harvest and it looks promising.

As the first commercial grower of the bianchetto in New Zealand, Jeff is learning as he goes but believes he is on the brink of turning the business, which until now has provided him with a modest income, into something altogether more lucrative.

Hugo can pick up the scent of a truffle a mere 0.1 gram in size, which can be a momentary letdown for Jeff who is on his hands and knees with a pick trying to excavate the general area.

While in Italy they range from being pea-sized to almost the size of an egg, the cultivated New Zealand white truffles can be of significant size, with Jeff's largest weighing in at 140g - exciting considering they can command prices of up to $3000 to $4000 per kilogram.

Success has been a long time coming for Jeff but for him it will perhaps be the fulfillment of a lifelong desire.

"When I was a kid, I tried to grow field mushrooms.

"I didn't succeed but I do wonder if I'm trying to fulfil some long-held urge to grow."

Jeff doesn't yet export - the harvest is still too small - and most of this crop goes to Auckland and Wellington, though it is available on menus locally.

"Pegasus Bay is the best place to eat white truffles in Canterbury," he says. "They do fantastic truffle meals."

Although he first considered growing nuts, Jeff now confesses to be a truffle lover, saying the salty, garlicky aroma of the bianchetto is addictive.

The small, brown, knobbly truffles might look like small potatoes but Jeff hopes they might turn out to be buried treasure.

Try This:

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UOVA AL TARTUFO

4 free-range eggs

4 Tbsp cream

10g white truffle

Salt

Butter for greasing

Place four eggs in a sealed glass jar with layers of absorbent paper towels between.

Add the truffle, separating with a layer of paper towels. Seal and leave for two to seven days for the egg yolks to absorb the truffle's flavour.

Change the paper towel separating the truffle daily to help keep the truffle dry.

Heat the oven to 180C and grease two large ramekins with butter.

Crack two eggs into each ramekin and then pour half the cream over each.

Season with salt and place in the oven.

Cook for five minutes, then check to see that the egg whites are set.

Cut the truffle into very thin slivers with a vegetable peeler and scatter it over the eggs.

Serve immediately with bread.

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* Jeff harvests to order and can be contacted at jeffweston@xtra.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News