Truffle bikini

Method

Truffles are decadent. They have a unique flavour and are almost mystical. In recent years, we’ve used truffles more and more because they add a dash of that super fine-dining vibe, which is funny when you’re just at a little cafe. We first created this sandwich as an aperitivo for an event, and people went crazy for it. A bite of truffle bikini is the perfect mouthful of lusciousness. You could open a cocktail bar and just serve these bikinis alongside a Negroni, and you’d have people lining up at the door. For the truffle filling 1 Melt the butter in a pot, then add thinly chopped shallots, and cook for 2 minutes, avoiding any colouration. 2 Add the truffle purée, truffle juice, and cognac, then bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it until it has a firm consistency, like a medium to dense paste. 3 Remove the pot from the heat and blend in the whipped butter. Once the filling is smooth, season it with a little salt and a dash of soy sauce. 4 Put the filling in a bowl to cool. It might take 30 minutes to cool in the fridge. To assemble 5 Cut the milk bread into 8 slices, around 1cm thick. Lay out the slices so you have two lines of four. 6 Cut 4 slices of cheese with a cheese cutter or knife, about 1mm thick (roughly 70g of cheese per piece of bread). 7 Dress each side of the bread with a generous amount of truffle filling. Put a slice of cheese onto one side, then add the other pieces of bread on top to make the sandwich. 8 Store the sandwiches wrapped in a cloth or cook them straight away. 9 To cook, heat a frying pan to medium-high heat. Add a little butter. Put the sandwich on the butter and add another pan or skillet on top to press the sandwich down. 10 Fry for 1 minute or until the bottom side is golden brown, then flip the bikini and do the same on the other side. 11 Remove the bikini from the pan and let it sit on a cutting board for 30 seconds to cool down. Cut the bikini into quarters and pile them up so they look like small peaks. 12 Brush the bikinis with brown butter and grate truffle on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 13 Serve straight away.