Potato soup with black truffle and Fontina cheese

There are dishes that don't cause a big sensation, or don't stand out for their originality, and certainly don't belong on the menus of the most prestigious restaurants. And yet even a simple potato soup (or rather potato cream soup) can become a true gourmet dish - also because it is made with the use of the exquisite black truffle.complice anche la presenza di un nobilissimo tartufo nero pregiato.

 

Table of contents

• Ingredients
• Preparation
• Recipe
• Alternatives

Ingredients for 4 persons

• - Black truffle: 50 g
• - Potatoes: 500 g
• - Fontina cheese: 200 g
• - Onion: 1 small white/yellow onion
• - butter: approx. 20 g
• - extra virgin olive oil: to taste
• - Salt: to taste
• - Pepper: to taste

 

Preparations

Even such a simple dish requires some care: the two main ingredients both grow in the soil, so they need to be cleaned well. The potatoes need to be washed properly, and any soil residue must be removed before they are processed further. There is plenty of time to clean the truffles later, while the potatoes are cooking.

You have to be very cautious when cleaning the black truffle, because it is very delicate and if you treat it not carefully, there is a risk that part of its flavour will be lost for good. If you want to know more about this, read our pages on how to clean truffles properly. In any case, remember that unlike white truffles, black truffles can be cleaned directly under gently running (not too warm) water with a soft brush.

Recipe

Potato soup with black truffle and fontina cheese is very easy to prepare. The only thing you need to take into account is that you will need a working blender once you have finished cooking the potatoes. :)

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces as evenly as possible.
2. Chop the onion into fine pieces and heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan of sufficient size (the potatoes also need to be cooked in this pan).
3. Gently fry the onion and, once browned, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt.
4. Stir and add cold water until the potatoes are covered. Be careful not to add too much water, otherwise it will be difficult to get a really creamy soup. Once the potatoes are completely covered, no more water should be added.
5. Cover with a lid and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes at medium heat. The cooking time may vary depending on the size of the potatoes. When they are soft enough, it is time to start mashing!
6. While the potatoes are cooking, carefully clean the black truffles and then chop about half of them. The other half will be sliced later directly onto the soup plates.
7. Remove the rind from the fontina cheese and cut into small cubes.
8. Once the potatoes are cooked, process them into a smooth cream using a blender (a hand blender is fine too).
9. Put the potato cream back into the pot, add the chopped half of the black truffle, the diced Fontina cheese and the butter. Cook for about 1 minute until the cheese and butter have melted completely, and season with salt and pepper.
10. Serve the soup and place a few fine slices of black truffle on each plate.

 

Alternatives

But what about using stock for the soup? What about milk? I know normally, to make a tasty soup, you use stock or milk (or both) to cook the potatoes, but I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible. Besides, it tastes great that way too. ;)