After a TON of requests from TikTok, I have finally made the infamous Truffle Spaghettini that has been discontinued from the Cactus Club! And after making it, I can see why it was so highly requested.
My husband said this tasted just like he was in Italy and as someone who lived in Italy, it’s a little blasphemous for me to attest to, but I will say it’s definitely one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever personally made.
Why You’ll Love This Truffle Spaghettini Recipe
You get the best of both worlds! You know how when you go to a restaurant and you have to pick between a white sauce or a tomato sauce and you’re just sitting there doubting all your life decisions up to this point? Well this is not only a delicious recipe, you don’t have to choose!
The recipe is my version, because I have adjusted to make it even better, but because I had multiple ex-Cactus Club employees message/email me the recipe, I will also be adding the tips to make it just like the Cactus club!
How To Make This Truffle Spaghettini Recipe
This dish consists of 2 sauces: one tomato sauce for the meatballs and truffle cream sauce for spaghetti.
The tomato sauce starts with stewed tomatoes which can be either from a can (that’s what I used!) or homemade. Homemade stewed tomotoes is pretty easy, it’s just stewed for an hour with celery, green peppers and onions.
The second sauce is a truffle cream sauce that starts with a Mushroom Duxelle which is basically just a fancy term for a mix of finely chopped mushrooms sauted with garlic and shallot. You can use almost any mushroom but my suggestions would be definitely button, cremini, and/or shitaki as a base. I also added oyster mushrooms. I just bought one of those hotpot mushroom mixes from the grocery store so I wouldn’t have to buy a ton of big packages of mushrooms and you only need a few of each.
How To Serve This Truffle Spaghettini Recipe
I paired the dish like the Cactus Club with side of garlic butter crostini but made a few very variations. The truffle oil I used had little truffles inside so I decided to top off the spaghettini with it.
I also decided up the decadence in this dish with a truffle burrata because why not and it was seriously perfect. I am usually a perfectionist when it comes to recipes and I actually don’t think I could have made this one any better.
Truffle Spaghettini Recipe Tips (As per Cactus Club)
To make this more authentic to the Cactus Club recipe (as per the ex-Cactus Club employees):
They use 100% kobe beef for their meatballs (I used grocery store beef and it tasted great!).
They add white wine (I have a small allergy to it so I don’t buy it)
A lot of their stuff is premixed/made so it’s hard to tell what the exact ingredients are. They buy the stewed tomatos and the mushroom duxelle from other distributors and they also have their own herb mix/blend but honestly this was really close!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- The Cactus Club’s Butternut Squash Ravioli with Prawns
- The Cactus Club’s Creole Chicken and Butter (Coming soon!)
- The Cactus’ Club’s Zen Roll (Coming soon!)
The Truffle Spaghettini Recipe
Ingredients
Makes 2 Servings
Tomato Sauce
1 Can of Stewed Tomatoes (Can also be homemade by cooking down tomatos, celery, and green peppers in onions for 1 hour)
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder
2 Tsp Dried Oregano
2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary (or 2 Tsp Dried)
4 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme (or 2 Tsp Dried)
1 Tbsp Fresh Chives
1 Tbsp Fresh Tarragon (or Chervil but hard to find!)
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil
Meatball
6 Meatballs of Pure Beef (About 300 grams)
Salt and Pepper
Truffle Cream Sauce
1/4 Cup of Butter To Start and add in 3 Tbsp (1 at a time)
1 Cub of Finely Chopped Mix of Mushrooms (I used 8 Button, 2 Shitake/Cremini mushrooms , and 2 large Oyster Mushrooms that I bought in a Hot Pot Package)
2 Small Shallot (Finely Chopped)
2 Large Cloves of Minced Garlic
3 Sprigs of Thyme
1/4 Cup of Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup of Pasta Water (or as required to thin out Pasta Sauce)
1/4 Cup of Parmesan
Salt + Pepper To Taste
2 Tsp Truffle Oil
Pasta
1/2 pack of Barilla Spaghettini (Cooked as per instruction packages)
Optional Garnishes
Garlic Butter Crostini
Truffle Burrata
Basil and/or Italian Parsley
Instructions
- In a large non-stick pan, add in your 100% pure beef meatballs. They should be about 1 inch in diameter (they will shrink during cooking). If your pan is not non stick, add in a bit of oil. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper to create a crust. Once the meatballs have been browned, add them into a baking sheet and bake them for 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- In the same pan, use the beef fat to make the tomato sauce. Add in the stewed tomatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme sprigs and rosemary sprigs. Let it simmer for about 7-10 minutes on low heat.
- After 10 minutes, remove the thyme and rosemary. Add back in the meatballs, then add in the fresh chives, tarragon (or chervil), and basil. Keep it in a low simmer while making the truffle cream sauce (the longer this sauce simmers, the better it tastes!)
- Cook the pasta as per package instructions.
- In a separate sauce pan, start by making the Mushroom Duxelle by adding in 1/4 cup of butter, shallots, and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes and then add in the finely chopped mushroom mix and sprigs of thyme. Saute for another 4-5 mins on low heat while adding in more butter as required (1 tbsp at a time).
- After the mushrooms have browned, add in the flour and saute for 1 minute as you mix in the flour. Then add in heavy cream, parmasan and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the sprigs of thyme and thin out the sauce as required with the pasta water (I used about 2 ladles which is 1/4 cup but it depends on how fast your sauce cooks down.
- Plate and serve immediately! Garnish with garlic crostini, truffle burrata (or just ricotta), and basil/Italian parsley – the Cactus Club also uses lemon zest – enjoy!
