I would be hard pressed to even begin to describe the taste of truffles. In all my years, I do not think truffles were ever added to the meals around the Schwabenland table. Travel always opens and broadens!
Istria is Croatia's truffle capital. This "Black Diamond" draws thousand of gourmet lovers from all over the world. We drove up to Miro Tartufi which sits at the foot of the medieval town of Motovun. It was one of those glorious days where we all just knew this was going to be great fun. Bela and Nera were barking away awaiting our trip into the forest which overlooks the Mirna river valley. They are highly trained to dig deeply into the clay dirt to unearth this rare richness. Miroslav and Mirjana are the owners of this family run business. This wonderful couple, married 66 years, came out to greet us with such warmth and welcome, offering us their specialty herbed and orange refreshing water. Mirjana said that we can get Coke anywhere and she wanted to give us something memorable and special. This couple totally enjoyed each other, complimenting and playing off the other. It was obvious they were destined for another 60 plus years together! Watching them was definitely part of the charm being here.
Miro Tartufi Video (Company You Tube Video)
Off we went on a short drive to the forest with Miroslav. The dogs ran from tree to tree while we learned about everything truffle....how and where they grow and why we were moving into the highly prized white truffle season. This lasts between September until January. We came right at the perfect time! Breathing in the fresh, clean air of the forest, the dogs found 4 truffles and were rewarded with our cheers and a handful of treats from Miro!
Then this story turned into a modern day "Loaves and Fishes." Somehow, out of the 4, Mirjana created truffle spreads, truffle oil dip, tomato salad, truffle pasta, truffle cheese and had them spread out on a table under a flower decorated pergola. She transported us to a truffle gastronomical heaven with her scrambled eggs with shaved truffles! Wines and specialty salts were the perfect accompaniment. I definitely made up for all my years of never having these aphrodisiacal bolsters. One day and one lovely couple changed my world for the better!
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