Finally embarking at the end of our Trader Joe's Truffle triple feature, we will finish up with the Truffle Piccante Spicy Pasta Sauce. Just like the Truffle Powder Seasoning and the Organic White Truffle Potato Chips, I had anticipated greatness just off of the truffle. This sauce uses Italian Black Truffles. As I looked upon the jar I envisioned heaven with each and every mouthful.
Once I opened the jar, the truffle aroma hits you like a stack of bricks. This was by far the most powerful when it comes to smells of all three products. It was so incredibly powerful that I had to close the jar until I was ready to use it. My wife and daughters are not truffle fans like I am. I chose to cook this with some salmon and spaghetti. I figured that the fish would add a nice flavor to the sauce plus the truffle powder complimented the salmon well when I cooked both together.
As the sauce cooked with the salmon, the aroma became more tolerable in the house although my wife and daughters will disagree. They are still complaining about the smell of the house even as I type this review. I cannot say that I disagree. I just let everything cook together on medium to low heat just so that they would come together nicely. I have a photo of my plating below.
As someone who loves truffle I am sad to admit that I did find the final product just a bit overwhelming. Although the sauce did compliment the salmon well, it was just too strong for the pasta. I did not enjoy the pasta at all. In all honestly I would probably prefer it if it was served tapas style and there was not too much to eat. I feel that I could enjoy it more if I just had one or two bites and it may even leave me wanting for more. I ended up not finishing the portion of pasta that I had in front of me.
Would I purchase this sauce again? When comparing to the other two truffle products in the proceeding reviews, I would purchase them in a heart beat. In this case, I would have to have a very specific occasion to do so and it would be as a small plate appetizer. I definitely recommend it to the truffle lover at least to taste it. You never know, you may enjoy it more than I did. Enjoy!
I mixed the sauce with two cans of plain tomato sauce (I had a feeling it was going to be intense, as it wouldn't be the first product TJs advertised as spicy that was WAY too spicy to eat) and made an eggplant parmesan casserole with it. The truffle flavor is still pretty strong, so glad I diluted it! In combination with the ricotta cheese and eggplant, it was pretty good. Just straight out of the jar, over plain pasta, no, I wouldn't recommend it. Diluted, it added a nice flavor to the dish.
I also had a not great reaction to this sauce as well and sadly I received a jar from a friend who got me everything truffles. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that this was the most off putting sauce I’ve ever had.
I love truffle and I love pasta. Like, really love pasta. And I hated this sauce. My husband said it traumatized him off truffle maybe forever. We suffered through some and then I decided to wash it off in the strainer and use a different sauce for the rest. This is the first time in my life I've ever not been able to finish pasta and we eat pasta at least once a week.
I had the opposite experience; I just love this sauce. It was the best sauce I ever tasted.