RECIPES - Courgette parcel with stracchino cheese and white truffle.

The story of this dish goes back to 2005 when I was single and often invited friend’s over for dinner.

On this occasion, I was hosting a supper for Ettore, a colleague, and Terence, a friend I shared lots of adventures with.

At the time, I was working at Lucio’s in Fulham, a classic Italian fine dining serving seasonal white truffle.

When you work in this kind of place, the white truffle is often paired with the classic: scrambled eggs, beef carpaccio, risotto, tagliolini, etc.

My idea was to create something different but simple at the same time.

I started from the Stracchino cheese, so delicate which doesn’t 
overpower the taste of the truffle, but I had to contain it somehow; 
otherwise, when warming it up, it would melt and spread all over the plate.

Inspiration comes from everywhere, and mine came from some leftover grilled vegetables.

The courgettes looked perfect, delicate and the grilling gave them a subtle smoky taste, and they easily wrapped around the cheese.

Add the white truffle on top, and you have a fantastic dish.

Ingredients for serving 4 people: 

12gr white truffle

For the parcel

200gr Stracchino cheese
2 courgettes
5ml white truffle oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt 
Voatsiperifery pepper of Madagascar

Cut the courgettes lengthwise with a peeler to obtain very thin slices. You need six for every parcel.

Blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds. They need to be able to fold without breaking.

Drain them gently and put them in ice water to preserve their vivid colour. 

Pat them dry and season with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Maldon salt and Voatsiperifery pepper.

Sear the courgette strips in a pan until slightly charred or slightly grilled to obtain the same effect.

Place the stracchino in a bowl, season with fine crushed Maldon salt, Voatsiperifery pepper and a drop of white truffle oil.

Mix gently as we need to keep the stracchino as firm as possible.

Place an 8 cm diameter pastry cutter in the centre of the plate.

Adhere two strips of zucchini to the edges.

Create an eight-pointed asterisk with the remaining strips and place it in the centre of the pastry ring.

Fill with 50g of seasoned stracchino and close the tips on themselves to prevent the cheese from leaking out.

For the presentation (one portion)

Radish “Red Purple” microgreens 

Re-heat the stracchino parcel in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Place at the centre of the plate, and finely shave about 3 grams of white truffle on top and decorate with a few leaves of radish “Red Purple”.

Wine pairing

Champagne “le tradition” blanc de noirs extra brut - Allouchery Perseval - France