By chance, one day when we were having lunch in Cortona, where we met the owners/chef of another restaurant called Osteria il Granaio. They invited us to come and have a meal at their restaurant. For our last meal out in Italy, we decided to drive the 60 km to Rapalano Terme and have lunch at their restaurant.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised how they recognised and greeted us with such a warm welcome. The chef immediately went back to the to the kitchen only to return with the largest plate of white truffles I have ever seen. I was scared to imagine what the cost of them would be!
Once we were seated the chef returned to ask us if we were happy to let him choose our menu for the day. I was delighted with this idea and proceeded to enjoy the most wonderful meal based around white truffles. We started simply with hand sliced prosciutto and beautiful pecorino cheese.
The following course was two fried eggs served in a generous pool of olive oil, topped with lavish shavings of fresh white truffle. The chef was quick to arrive and tell us that we must wait until the eggs had cooled before devouring them as this would allow the truffle to infuse. The dish was so simple but sublime.
The next course was the signature one for me; home-made tagliatelle sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, topped with a generous amount of white truffle. It may not sound amazing, but it was the best pasta dish I have ever eaten!!
The main meal was Carlo's favourite, Tuscan tagliata; T-bone steak cooked blue, (which is the only way they eat meat in Tuscany!) sliced and served on a bed of rocket with crispy fried potatoes with rosemary and fresh green peppercorns.
Lunch was enjoyed with great Tuscan red wine and finished with ricotta crostata for dessert.
This dining experience only reinforced my love of Italian food; simply use the best ingredients, cook it perfectly and don't overcomplicate it!!
I highly recommend for anyone to eat at this restaurant 'Osteria il Graneaio'. For those of you that would like to have a go with truffles, then to be sure to:
click here to download a copy of my Pappardelle with Funghi and Olio di Tartufo.
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