One early winter morning, we headed out of the lovely city of Cuenca for a day in the remote countryside. We drove for over two hours along winding country roads to have lunch with truffle hunters in a small hamlet in the interior of Spain. I wanted to find out how Spanish truffle hunters live and what they eat.
Casa Chon is located in one of the most remote areas of Europe with the lowest population density. Here, it’s not unusual to drive for miles without seeing anyone at all.
THE NATIONAL PARKS OF SPAIN
However, the nature here is simply majestic. All around us were beautiful lakes, mountains and forests. The soil is red earth and the waters are a deep hue of blue. Part of the way was completely covered in snow, and this was pretty too.
Fortunately, the temperature heated up slightly from below zero to two degrees by the time we reached our destination. There was no snow in the hamlet and it was surrounded by autumn colors.
HOW TO BUILD A HOME BY HAND
“The truffle hunter and his wife built their home entirely by hand,” my friend Jorge explained about Casa Chon, as we walked around the property, looking at everything. He added: “In fact, they didn’t use a forklift or any kind of building equipment for this.”
I looked at the truffle hunter who stood there in his jogging outfit, smiling proudly about his handmade home. He said: “I lifted everything myself. I did not even use a forklift.” The homes were made from nearby stones, logs and cement.
Then I looked at the structure they had built, wondering how they had done everything by hand. It was two stories tall, and it consisted of several apartments. They use one apartment for themselves and rent out the others to vacationers wishing to enjoy simple country life at Casa Chon.
A TRUFFLE LUNCH AT CASA CHON
The wife prepared lunch for us. It was a six-course meal with truffles used in various ways. Everything was simple and natural but delicious. The table decor too was colourful — perfect for an Instagram photo. In fact, with its effortless styling, it would have put many a smart restaurant in Spain to shame.
Jorge said to me: “It’s very hard to get things here. The nearest supermarket is around 38 kilometres away. So they must learn to make do with what they have.”
Fortunately, the truffle hunters had no shortage of truffles. So we had simple food, but every dish had a mound of truffles on it. In addition, the wife placed a heap of sliced truffles into a bowl of olive oil.
Then she also placed on the table homemade truffle butter and truffle mayonnaise. For the round of next courses, she made an entire plate deviled eggs topped with truffles. She also made thick pumpkin soup flavoured with truffles.
Everything was absolutely delicious. For example, I am not particularly fond of deviled eggs but I found myself eating most of what was on this large blue plate.
I so enjoyed this day out in the countryside of Spain, so far from civilization and yet in the heart of truffle hunting country. I also got to meet real locals who literally live by the toil of their own hands — whether it is building their home or hunting for their food. They forage and plant or harvest everyday, and nature is their life.
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