Truffle Omelette, the Molise Sunday Frittata

In the houses of Molise the truffle omelette is the dish of a good hunting Sunday: when the dog comes back with a tuber that tastes fine but isn't handsome enough to sell, it ends up in the eggs. It is the simplest recipe in the collection, and probably the one that best captures the everyday relationship between this land and its truffles.

Few rules, all of them important: the eggs must be very fresh, the butter must be foaming but never burnt, and the truffle goes into the pan finely cut rather than into the bowl, so the hot fat draws out its aroma straight away. Tradition calls for a single, well-browned omelette of perfect oval shape, but with two eggs and a small pan you can easily make one portion per person.

A truffle omelette holds up well at room temperature, which makes it perfect cut into squares as a starter or eaten as a quick lunch. If you are using preserved truffle or truffle cream, add half during cooking and half raw on the plate: the raw part restores the aroma that heat tends to flatten. A good non-stick pan and medium heat are all the equipment you need.