The final instalment on my truffles series is the chat I had with Gabriele Coniglio at Officine Gastronomica Italiana in Prahran. Gabriele comes from Torino which is an hours drive from the Italian truffle capital of Alba, so he grew up with truffles and he loves them. The restaurant will be hosting a Piedmontese night very soon and Gabriele thinks truffles will play a role in this, so keep an eye out on social media.
Conversation with a chef: Hi Gabriele. How are you? Let's talk about truffles. Tell me about your experience with truffles.
I come from Piedmont, from the countryside of Torino, which is one hour drive from Alba, which is the capital of the Italian truffles. So growing up in a Piedmontese kitchen, usually at the end of the autumn we always had truffles on the menu and there were the truffle sellers going door to door of the restaurants, with freshly picked truffles.
Were they white truffles?
They were both white and black and black truffles, it depends obviously on the pocket of the restaurants which one they were getting. Then with the climate change, the truffle season has started to change too, because we start to have more dry summers. So the truffles are becoming more rare, more hard to find. So that makes them more expensive. Usually when you have a very wet August, it's going to be a good truffle season.
Yes. Well I think the same can be said here. I was speaking to Julian Hills from Navi and he was saying he has high hopes for truffle season here because we had a wet period and so now it should be quite good. What do you like to do with truffles?
I like to use them fresh over a pasta dish is my favourite; a pasta dish or risotto. Then if I want to do a dish with more structure, I use as a garnish for steak. Truffle makes everything good anyway.
That's right. And so you'll be using them once it's the truffle season. Will you be using them at OGI?
Yes. We are going to try to organise some special nights. We are going to do a night dedicated to Piedmontese cuisine. We are probably going to use some truffles then.
What kind of wine goes well with truffle dishes?
Considering my experience, I like Nebbiolo because it is where I'm from and Barolo. I woud avoid any kind of sparkling because it washes off the taste of truffle. Usually a red hearty wine.
I like to use them fresh over a pasta dish, that is my favourite; a pasta dish or risotto. Then if I want to do a dish with more structure, I use as a garnish for steak. Truffle makes everything good anyway. ~ Gabriele Coniglio, Officina Gastronomica Italiana
Do you have a particular memory – apart from your own cooking of a dish with truffles in it?
Yes. One of the dishes with truffles that surprised me the most was from Paolo Masciopinto from Aromi restaurant. He used to make scallops with truffle.It was an incredible match. They went very, very well together. I was very surprised.
Yes. Because some would say, not with seafood, but that's interesting.
Usually, I prefer them with meat or pasta.
It's interesting how often Paolo's name comes up when I speak to Italian chefs.
For me, he's one of the best Italian chefs in Melbourne. I worked with him actually for almost three years. I have good memories of that.
Well, thank you so much for your time again today, Gabriele.
Officina Gastronomica Italiana, 532-534 Malverb Road, Prahran