daRosario in VIV Magazine

The Truth About Truffle Oil
HEALTHY EATING
November 8th, 2010

If we were going to buy gold dust, we’d want it to contain actual gold — and we feel similarly about truffle oil. Considering that the exotic fungi sell for as much as $2,200 a pound, it’s probably not entirely surprising that almost all so-called truffle oils are created by mixing olive oil with synthetic compounds that seek to duplicate the distinctive aroma and flavor of truffles. When The New York Times published a story a few years ago by an acclaimed San Francisco chef revealing the “hocus-pocus” in truffle oil, readers were so dismayed that food critic Frank Bruni responded with a blog post assuring readers that a little truffle oil — or, as he said, “oil of truffle-mimicking chemicals” — still had its place. Used sparingly, he said, it was wonderful on popcorn or scrambled eggs.

Now we can tell you about a truffle oil that’s the genuine article. That would be from Rosario Safina, a New York City-based truffle dealer whose company, daRosario Organics, sells truffle honey, truffle salt and seasonings, truffle butter and truffle oil that contains actual bits of truffles. About 18 months after the Times printed its original story about “phony” truffle oil, it posted an update, reporting that the daRosario truffle oil presented an “authentic alternative.”

To search out true truffle oil, Safina advises looking for the words “organic white [or black] truffles” in the ingredients list and the USDA Organic seal on the label. “Truffles are organic,” he says, “and the organic seal is the only way to tell you have the real thing.” (Our old bottle of Trader Joe’s White Truffle Oil says “infused with white truffles aroma.”)

When we met Safina at a food show, he gave us a few products to sample, including his decadent truffle butter. (While you can find links to online grocers for Safina’s other products at darosario.com, the truffle butter is available only locally to lucky New Yorkers at a few gourmet shops and through freshdirect.com for $13.49 per 2-ounce jar.) Safina also sent us home with a simple, elegant recipe: Cook fresh fettuccine or taglietti in well-salted water. Drain, but leave some water clinging to the pasta. Immediately mix with the truffle butter and sprinkle with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese. The dish, we’re happy to report, was absolutely sublime, and the perfect thing to serve for our first home-cooked meal in a budding romance.

Though that romance wilted, we nonetheless fell in love with the truffle oil and, as Safina suggested, we’ve been using it judiciously as a condiment, a few drops sprinkled on grilled vegetables or fish, macaroni and cheese, and on a freshly made pizza with thinly sliced potatoes, sage and ricotta cheese. Safina also recommends a light salad of fresh baby spinach leaves, button mushrooms sliced paper thin with a potato peeler, shards of Parmesan cheese, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a teaspoon of white truffle oil. (Meat eaters can add a tablespoon or so of crumbled pancetta.) What not to do, however ardent your love of truffles and extravagant your budget, is to cook with a couple of tablespoons of truffle oil instead of, say, olive or canola oil. The flavor will absolutely overpower the dish. Drizzle — don’t pour — on freshly prepared foods as a finishing seasoning.

At about $26 for 8 authentic ounces, truffle oil is a luxury we’ve been enjoying if not every day, then a couple of times a week. What’s your favorite luxury food?

da Rosario 100% USDA Certified Organic Truffle Products Featured on Food Network “Iron Chef America”

Watch the Video HERE!


The Only Truffle Products Available in U.S. Made With Real Truffles,
Not Synthetic Flavorings

NEW YORK, N.Y. – October 20, 2010 – On September 12th, 2010, DA ROSARIO 100% USDA certified organic truffle products were featured on the Food Network hit show “Iron Chef America” (viewers: 2 million) as the featured secret ingredient in “Battle Truffle.” A long time staple of the “Iron Chef America” pantry, da Rosario products played the starring roll in Kitchen Stadium in this episode as chef Naomi Pomeroy of Portland’s Beast challenged resident Iron Chef Jose Garces in the head-to-head battle of earthy delights.

“We’re pleased that Food Network and “Iron Chef America”, influential players in the food world, chose to feature our products, made with 100% USDA certified organic real truffles, instead of other so-called truffle oils, which are typically made with a chemical additive,” said Rosario Safina, founder of da Rosario. “Today’s consumers demand to know what’s in their food. They expect top chefs and media brands to feature products that not only taste great, but are made from the purest and safest ingredients.”

da Rosario 100% USDA Certified Organic White and Black Truffle Butters, Truffle Oils, and Truffle Savory Seasonings were provided to the chefs. While chef Pomeroy impressed judges with her truffle menu of delicacies including bacon-wrapped sea scallops with black truffle vinaigrette, Iron Chef Garces reigned supreme with his creativity in dishes including truffled and sliced Wagyu sirloin with truffled egg and truffle salad.

da Rosario organic truffle products retail for $11.99 – $45.00 and are carried nationally by Earthy.com and Murray’s Cheese. For information on da Rosario, please visit www.darosario.com or call Rosario Safina at (212) 226-8572.

ABOUT DA ROSARIO
da Rosario’s creator, Rosario Safina, has been the driving force behind the popularization of truffles over the past 20 years. In 2002, Safina published the first book in the U.S. dedicated to this luxury item, “Truffles: Ultimate Luxury, Everyday Pleasure,” establishing him as the noted authority on the subject. Safina has appeared and been featured in outlets including Martha Stewart Living, CNN, Fine Living, Emeril Live, Good Morning America, The New Yorker, The Genuine Article with Gordon Elliott, and NPR. With da Rosario, Safina brings the purity of organic ingredients to his passion for truffles with the launch of the first-ever USDA 100% Organic truffle line. da Rosario organic truffle products are an official product of the Food Network’s Iron Chef pantry and have been featured in outlets including Food & Wine, InStyle, People, Everyday with Rachael Ray and CBS’ The Early Show, among others.

Rosario Safina in Serious Eats

Meet & Eat: Rosario Safina
May 27, 2010

Rosario Safina in the Daily Beast

5 Things You Didn't Know About Truffles
May 21, 2010

Great truffle news is coming! But first, read these...

Watch this space for big news coming soon!

A Midsummer Night's Truffle

All year long, my wife and I wait for summer. And when it's here, nothing beats cocktail hour, especially when these appetizers are on the table.

Bagno Caldo with White Truffle Olive Oil
Bagno caldo is literally a “warm bath.” But in this case, it’s also the popular name of a delicious antipasto, featuring warmed veggies bathed in olive oil. You can pick your favorites, but here are some of mine:

• 10 tiny new potatoes, scrub, cut into quarters, leave skin on. Drop in salted boiling water until tender.
• 4 celery stalks, washed, cut into 2”- 3” pieces.
• 1 pint fresh snap peas. Remove the tough closure “string” and blanch in salted boiling water for 30 seconds.
• 1 head each of broccoli and cauliflower. Cut off tiny florets only and blanch (as snow peas) for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Arrange vegetables on a platter.

Now, for the bath:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 anchovy filet
• one garlic clove minced most finely
• 2 tablespoons of da Rosario White Truffle Olive Oil
• pinch of sea salt

Combine the olive oil, garlic and anchovy in a small skillet on super low-low heat. Stir the mixture slowly, mashing anchovy as it warms. After 5 minutes or so, remove the skillet from the flame just as the aroma begins to open. Add a pinch of salt. Pour mixture into a small bowl and drizzle da Rosario White Truffle Olive Oil into the mixture; this way some bites are garlic-y and others are more truffle-y. Arrange bowl onto platter with veggies.


White Truffle Frico
These appetizers that are actually cheese crepes. Only better.

• 6 ounces Montasio cheese (if you can't find this, use a good Parmigiano)
• da Rosario White Truffle Honey
• da Rosario Whole Black Truffles, drained and shaved
• da Rosario Porcini Olive Oil

Grate the Montasio (a northeastern Italian cow’s milk cheese) using the biggest-hole side of the grater. Heat a big, non-stick skillet to medium-high, as if you were making pancakes. One at a time, drop 6 heaping tablespoons of grated cheese dollops evenly around the skillet. Each will melt outward. Spoon-flatten as needed. Check for softness (consistency of a pancake) and flip. Each round of 6 crepes takes about 2 minutes to complete.

Remove first batch of fricos onto platter (do not stack) and smear a 1/4 teaspoon of da Rosario Truffle Honey on each frico. On the next batch, top with 2 shaved slices of da Rosario Black Truffles on each. The last batch gets a 1/4 teaspoon da Rosario Porcini Olive Oil on each. These can be served as is, or folded like a taco. Continue rotating the batches until you're finished. Serve at room temperature with a bottle of something cold – Prosecco is perfect. Makes about 24 bite-sized fricos.


Truffled Quail Eggs with Baby Asparagus and Prosciutto
Local fresh asparagus gets the da Rosario treatment.

• 1 bunch of thin summer asparagus, washed
• Extra Virgin olive oil
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• 6 Quail eggs, or, 6 tiny chicken eggs (Quail eggs are often found in specialty food stores or at the butcher shop.)
• Salt and pepper
• Grated parmigiano
• da Rosario White Truffle Olive Oil

Brush asparagus with olive oil. Place on medium temperature grill. Roll occasionally until grill marks appear. Set aside, then turn grill down to the lowest flame. Wait a few minutes, and place each slice of prosciutto individually on the grill for about ten seconds. This will crisp the ham and give it a smoky flavor. Set aside as well.

Fry one egg per person sunny side up, 2-3 eggs per pan. Don’t overcook – make sure the yolks are still runny. Add salt and pepper to taste. On individual plates, put a bed of grilled asparagus; add crumpled prosciutto, then one egg. Top each serving with a light dusting of parmigiano, followed by 1 teaspoon of da Rosario White Truffle Olive Oil. Serves 6.

The best part about these dishes? They won't take you away from your friends and family – or your cocktail – for long. Here's to summer!

The summer of truffle love

Three easy dishes

Stuck for new ideas for summer meals? You’d be surprised at how tasty some all-American comfort dishes get when you add some truffles. Mashed potatoes, starchy, creamy and buttery, are a perfect vehicle for delivering the wild truffle taste. Truffle products on grilled meats and vegetables are a quick and easy way to carry the truffle flavor of the forest; my wife loves truffles in her good old grilled cheese. Even mega-chef Alain Ducasse offers Macaroni and Cheese with Truffle Reduction on his menu.

Here are a few dishes my family and friends really love that don’t require heaps of time or money:

White Bean & Truffle Puree
A very nice summer appetizer with pita chips or bread for dipping.

• One 27 oz. can of cannelloni or Great White Northern beans
• da Rosario White Truffle Oil
• Olive oil, sea salt

Drain the beans and mash with a fork) or puree in food processor. Add sea salt to taste and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend. Add 2 tablespoons of White Truffle Oil. Blend again.

You’ll smooth it into a white frothy paste. (If it’s still a little dry, add a drizzle of White Truffle Oil on the top.) Enjoy.

Honey Truffle Grilled Pork
Treat the other white meat star right with a little truffle love.

• Four thick-cut pork chops
• da Rosario White Truffle Honey
• Sea salt

Grill your chops rare to medium-rare. When done, sprinkle with sea salt. “Ice” each chop with 1 tablespoon of White Truffle Honey; spread evenly. Place them in a shallow bowl with a lid, cover, and let truffle honey melt down into chops as they finish cooking. Bring to table 3 to 4 minutes later, lift the lid, and let the aroma engulf your dinner guests. Serves four.

Baby Rucola, Parmesan Cheese, Pancetta and Button Mushroom Salad
This is the “covered dish” that always seems to go first at potlucks.

• 2 bunches of baby rucola (enough for four people), washed twice
• 2 slices of 1/4-1/2” thick pancetta (can substitute bacon)
• 5-6 button mushrooms
• 2-3 ounces of Parmesan cheese
• 2 table spoons of da Rosario White Truffle Olive Oil
• Lemon and sea salt

Cut the pancetta slices into 10 tiny cubes. Put paper towel on microwave-safe plate, then cubes on top; microwave on high for 2 minutes; spill into salad bowl. Slice each button mushroom into thin scalloped slices with a potato peeler; then into the salad bowl. Squeeze a little lemon juice, then add rucola and 2 or 3 pinches of sea salt to taste. Toss gently. Shave 10-15 paper-thin slices of Parmesan cheese with potato peeler to top off salad. Serves four.

(Note: Some people call rucola “arugula.” I don’t.)

I hope you’ll enjoy these easy and tasty hot weather recipes as much as I do. When the cook stays cool, everything tastes better.