I was picking up ingredients for Pineapple Ponzecake at my local grocery store yesterday, meandering around the produce section, when suddenly I saw: SALE ON BLACK TRUFFLES. That’s right – black summer truffles were going for a song. I was able to buy two little ones for $20. I immediately zoomed back over to the soup aisle to get chicken broth and bought a bottle of nice white wine. IT WAS RISOTTO TIME.

I. love. risotto. It’s creamy comfort food, and great for dinner parties or impressing your parents or a date (especially if you say ‘risotto’ like Giada de Laurentiis would), but it’s not hard to make. Just lots of stirring.

I made a classic Cheese Risotto and carefully arranged wafer-thin slices of fresh black truffle over the top, then drizzled it very lightly with truffle oil to enhance the flavor. The problem with summer truffles is that their flavor, especially raw, can be very subtle. You’ll get the earthiness and the almost almond-like texture, but for that big truffle aroma and flavor, summer truffles either need to be lightly sautéed in a fat (not an option since FFXIV specified that fresh slices should be placed on top) or accompanied with a little drizzle of truffle oil.

Black Truffle Risotto!

1 cup risotto rice - Arborio is widely available and cheap, but Vailone, Bomba, or Carnaroli all work well too

4 cups of broth/stock of your choice, heated until just a simmer and kept warm (NOTE! Use low-sodium broth - as it reduces, regular broth can become VERY salty)



About ¼ - ½ cup white wine (or more chicken broth if you don’t drink)

A couple of ounces of grated Parmesan cheese (I grate mine until a cereal bowl is about half full)

Half a large white onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Pinch of dried thyme

2 small black truffles

(If using summer truffles) Drizzle of truffle oil (white or black fine)





Heat your broth in a pot over medium heat while you prep everything else. Place 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan or saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and let it cook for 3-4 minutes or so before adding minced garlic. Cook the mixture, stirring every so often, until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add 1 cup of risotto rice and stir to coat in the oil/butter mixture. The idea is to gently toast your risotto without burning it or browning it. You will know when the risotto is toasted by the smell. Lean down and inhale - is your risotto beginning to smell toasty, starchy, and nutty? This usually takes a minute or two at medium heat. Then, stir in your deglazer, whether it’s wine, broth, or water. Stir until almost all the liquid is absorbed, then add a ladleful (about ½ a cup) of broth.

Continue to add ladlefuls of broth as the rice absorbs almost all of the liquid in the pan. When you’ve added about ¾ of your liquid, begin tasting every minute or two. Your risotto is underdone if there’s anything crunchy in the middle of the grains or it tastes gritty, but it’s overdone if it tastes gummy, gluey, or mushy. You’re aiming for al dente, which means that while the risotto won’t put up resistance to your teeth or require a lot of chewing, it also has a slight firmness left in it. When you hit the sweet spot, take the pan off the heat and stir in the 2 tbsp of remaining butter, Parmesan cheese, dried thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

If you eat truffles often enough to have a truffle slicer (I certainly don’t), then use it to slice your truffles; otherwise, slice them as wafer-thin as you can with a paring knife and lay the slices on top of the risotto in serving bowls. If using summer truffles, put your thumb over the opening of a bottle of truffle oil and drizzle a few drops over the bowl. Savor that Crit/Det bonus!