Truffles

It was my turn to cook last night and I made Sautéed Scallops with a Sage Truffle Drizzle. This sounds fancier than it is and was very, very easy to make. First, a word about truffle oil.

Truffle oil is not made from truffles – exactly – rather it is a superior, gourmet olive oil that has been infused with either white or black truffles. I paid $30 for an 8 oz bottle so, as most cooks recommend, I will use it only for special recipes. Truffles have an earthy and perhaps even sensual, seductive aroma that immediately permeate a room when sliced. Truffles are prized edible subterranean fungi that have been traditionally hunted by hogs. More recently, dogs have been trained to unearth the little gems because they can be taught not to eat the merchandise (apparently truffles are an aphrodisiac for hogs…don’t tell the dogs or we might have a situation!).

Enough about hogs.

Or dogs.


First, I panned fried the scallops in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When browned on both sides and cooked through, I removed them from the pan and kept them warm. I used frozen scallops from Trader Joe's.

Then, in the same pan as the scallops, I added 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter became frothy...

...I added about 15 sage leaves that I cut into strips. I sauteed them until they were just about crispy then I removed the mixture from the heat. I added 1 tablespoon of truffle oil and incorporated.

I also made risotto with butternut squash cubes, so....to plate this dish, I placed a heaping spoonful of risotto in a bowl, topped with five scallops, drizzled some sage truffle butter on top...and there you have it. Delicious, very fancy and easy smeasy.

We also had a salad with field greens, artichokes and garlic in the lovely traveling salad bowl and red velvet cupcakes...yummo!

Truffle photo from Google Images.