Chef Rocky Maselli’s Oregon Dungeness Crab Napoleon with White Truffle Cream

Those who read Where And What in the World regularly, already read about the Oregon Truffle Festival January 29-31, 2010. Well, guess what? They have invited the French.

Leslie Scott, organizer extraordinaire says, For the first time ever, native Oregon truffles will be featured in a meal with the famous perigord truffle. To celebrate our 5th anniversary, we’ve invited the French, and are so proud to welcome Chef Jacques Ratier and truffle scientist Pierre Sourzat, in an evening called La Récréation. Our evening will be hosted by author Michael Sanders, whose bookFrom Here, You Can’t See Paris, made them famous.

With all this excitment, I asked Leslie if she would send me an Oregon truffle recipe. She picked Rocky Maselli of Marche to answer our request. What could be better than Oregon Dungeness Crab combined with Oregon Truffles?

Oregon Dungeness Crab Napoleon with English Peas,

Sugar Snap Peas and White Truffle Cream

Rocky Maselli

This elegant dish showcases the lovely, delicate flavors of Dungeness crab in counterpoint with the earthy, fragrant Oregon truffle. The bright green peas and chive oil against a backdrop of cream and pastry make for a fantastic and impressive presentation.

Yield: 4 portions

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, cut into 5-inch equilateral triangles

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup olive oil

1 bunch chives, plus 1 tbsp minced for garnish

1 tablespoon butter

1 large shallot, minced

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

8 oz. Oregon Dungeness Crab Meat, picked through to remove any shell bits

1/2 cup English peas, shucked and blanched

1/2 cup sugar snap peas

1 small Oregon white truffle

salt and pepper

For puff pastry:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the puff pastry triangles with the egg wash and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Set aside.

For chive oil:

Quickly blanch chives in salted water. Strain and pat dry. Add oil and chives into a high speed blender. Blend blanched chives and oil at high speed in a blender for 1 minute or until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer or cheese cloth into a small bowl, and let the sediment settle out for 3 or 4 minutes. Pour the bright green oil off the top, and discard the sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Set oil aside for plating.

Leslie also told us, It’s the only event of it’s kind in North America, featuring superb native Oregon truffles at their peak of ripeness, harvested by truffle dogs, and prepared by award winning chefs from all over Oregon.

Truffle lovers, if you are able to make it to Eugene, I think you’ll have a great time. I know Brenda and I would love to cover it in 2011. And, I believe good friends and writers, Michelle and Kurt Winner, will be covering it for 2010.

Click to learn more about the Oregon Truffle Festival. There is still time to get tickets and experience this event.

2010 is the year of required disclosure. Since I’ve not written our disclosure page, I’ll let you know that Norm and I met Leslie and her husband while we were dining at a small establishment in Ashland, OR at our own expense. There were only fou
r of us and we started talking about truffles. I was intrigued that Oregon had “good” truffles (I should not have been surprised since the wine is so exceptional). So these truffle posts are passed on to you simply to share in the bounty of what the United States has to offer. Frequently, at our own expense, we come across restaurants, chefs, wine, etc. that we find interesting. Other times, they are the result of being on a media trip. This is pure excitement.

We have heard that Paul Bocuse said to Thomas Keller, “American cuisine is developing exceptionally well and deserves to be taken seriously.” We agree and enjoy passing on our discoveries.