I chose this dish initially because it is definitely one of my favorites. I have always loved truffles in pasta, fries, and others. Whenever I see truffle infusions in any dish at a restaurant, I usually gravitate towards it because it is quite rare. It has a very distinct and elegant taste that adds lots of flavor to any base. I have never cooked with it before, which drew me towards making it. I have also never cooked fresh pasta, which is something I was very excited to try as well. I found a recipe on how to do it without a pasta maker and it ended up being a lot easier than expected. The quality of the pasta was excellent as the difference between fresh and boxed pasta is certainly noticeable. This dish is very easy to make as all the flavor is in the truffle infused oil and the truffle zest. The ingredients are very limited, which makes it a quick meal, but certainly very flavorful.

Because truffles are rare, this dish seems to be eaten on special occasions. Truffles often increases the price of any base like pasta, risotto, or even fries; therefore, it is added to meals to have a more luxurious essence. There are two types of truffles: black and white. White truffles are more rare than black truffles and more flavorful. White truffles, along with other wild mushrooms and fungi, are found in le Marche. This region is located near Tuscany and Abruzzo and was influenced by these regions in a variety of its cultural ways. Le Marche’s cuisine is known for being a mix between land and sea components in terms of fishing and agriculture. Seafood is very popular as well as cured meats, sausages, fruit and vegetables.

I really liked this project as it gave me an opportunity to get my hands dirty as I continue to learn about the variety of pasta noodles consumed in all the different regions of Italy. Learning about the regional diversity of food in Italy was a great segue into this project as I was able to choose a pasta that I love and recreate it with the ingredients I have at home. Besides the main ingredient of this dish, the truffle products, I was able to make this base pasta very easily with common ingredients in my house. I was able to be creative, tactile, while actively learning about one special pasta dish. I hadn’t anticipated enjoying making fresh pasta this much because I thought it would be frustrating. I was able to make this dish relatively quickly and serve myself along with a few friends. I had left-over pasta dough that I put in the fridge and will save for another pasta dinner!