Pays du Cassoulet
I invited my partner for a day out to discover the black truffle Tuber Melanosporum.. I love this mushroom that grows in the earth at the foot of oak trees. With its irregular black, cracked appearance, a firm and crunchy texture, its so particular fragrance, captivating and intoxicating, one taste and you’ll be back for more…
In February, the black truffle season is in full swing, as it is harvested from November to March. The harvest is called ‘cavage’, you ‘cave’, or extract, the truffles.
We arrive in the small place in Verdun and take a walk round the market. I’m going to taste the delicious food on Zara’s stand: she serves me a hot Moroccan pancake stuffed with chickpea hummus and truffles! Fabulous, I complement this pleasure with a small glass of Cabardès wine from the stall next door… Mmmm, it’s a party for the taste buds!
At 10:00am, chef Jean-Jacques Parayre is in the Halle de Verdun, we sit down to watch his demonstration of truffled recipes. And he gives us a taste as we go, it’s great: an omelette, an avocado guacamole, toast with truffle butter, the whole hall smells of the scent of truffle. The smells mingle and perfume the room.
Meanwhile, the truffle growers arrive with their produce in front of the ATA office: l’Association des Trufficulteurs de l’Aude. Yann and Christelle welcome them, register them and carefully sort the truffles; you have to smell them first to check for freshness A good truffle should be firm, and have a good smell: a mixture of humus and musk. Parts that are too soft or too dry are cut off and discarded. This is called ‘canifer’ the truffles. When they are cut, we can see the white veining, it must be visible but not take over, this would mean that the truffle is too ripe.
