Secret Recipe: Treasure Tarte Tatin (With Truffles, Root Vegetables, and Hazelnuts)

It’s treasure season. And by that, I mean that it is truffle season. These small, lumpy balls of fungi have entranced humans for decades. They are shockingly pungent and rather bizarre, but with some unnameable quality that always pulls me in for more. 

There are a lot of hazelnut orchards in the Pacific Northwest, dotting ancient homesteads and more modern agricultural plots. This is because hazelnuts are a great product to sell, yes, but also because certain kinds of truffles have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of hazelnut trees. A landowner can purchase special truffle-innoculated trees to plant, then patiently wait for about twenty years to see if their investment paid off. If it did, there is a far more valuable gem to be found than a hazelnut. 

If truffles are the gold nuggets hidden just beneath the soil, the frost-sweetened root vegetables of winter are the gems to adorn them. This time of year is full of rooty offerings, from garnet beetroots to amethyst carrots, opal shallots and pearly parsnips. Since the intense flavors of truffles play well with starches, a root vegetable medely is a no-brainer. Add the subtle sweetness of caramelized sugar, the tang of goat cheese, and golden flakes of puff pastry to the equation and you’ve got a winner. And don’t forget the hazelnuts, a nod to the symbiosis between truffles and roots, a reminder of a perfect collaboration (and a delightful source of crunch.) 

I invite you to follow me to Patreon for the rest of this adventure!
Patrons, you can unlock the rest of the post here

If you are curious about this program and want to learn more about its perks, you can do so here You can have access to secret recipes like this one for just $5 a month while also supporting my ability to share wonder with so many others!

Enjoy your explorations!

Magic Always,
Miss Wondersmith

Love what you’ve read here? Don’t forget to Subscribe to get frequent updates of new posts!

Huge thanks to my Patrons that make sharing all of these lovely posts with you possible (without all of the pop-ups and ads that make browsing other blogs so annoying). If you’re feeling generous, you too can support the wonder with a monthly contribution of your choice. Even $1 helps a lot! Your donation will help to fund this blog as well as my surprise free events and gifts for strangers. Learn more about this program at the link below:

New to foraging? Learn more about ethical and safe foraging (plus how to get started) here!