Hungry for Spring!

After a beautiful 75 degree weekend three weeks ago, mother nature blessed us with snow and ice the past two weeks. However, all this rain and snow (if it keeps up) will mean a great early spring mushroom season! Hopefully, unlike last year, we'll have a few weeks of consistent temperatures, and plenty of rain to temp the treats out of the ground.
In the meantime, I've been looking over some new and old recipes for Morels and thought since my mouth is now watering I would pass them along to you! Only about 2 more months to go!!

Stuffed Morels

8 to 10 large morels
2 cups bread crumbs (from firm white bread, )
cup chopped cooked chicken
cup melted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
teaspoon pepper
cup light cream




1. Cut the morels in half lengthwise; rinse them in cold water, amd soak for a few minutes in a minutes in a mixture of 1 quart water and 1 teaspoon salt. Drain the morels well and dry on paper towels.
2. In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, chicken, butter, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper. If there are additional morels, chop them finely and mix them with the stuffing. Loosely fill the morel halves with the stuffing, join the halves together, and tie them with string. Put the stuffed morels in a buttered casserole and pour the cream over them. Bake in a hot oven (400F.) for about 25 minutes.

NOTE: The morel halves can also be stuffed and baked open-faced, substituting a mixture of 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2 tablespoons white wine for the cream. Bake them in a hot oven (400F.) for 18-20 minutes.



                                        
Pasta With Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce

 1 lb. homemade pasta or ½ lb. Capellini or thin Linguine
2-3 tablespoons butter
As many morels as you can find or substitute 6 ounces dry morels or porchini mushrooms* or one pound of fresh white button mushrooms, Cremini mushrooms or Portabello mushrooms.
½ cup of cream or half and half (you can substitute any soup stock or the water from reconstituting dry mushrooms instead of cream if you want to go low cal.)
1 Tbsp chopped wild leeks or garlic
2 Tbsp fresh coarsely chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (to taste)
Pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)


1. Slice mushrooms into bite size slices. *If using dried mushrooms reconstitute them in a bowl by covering them in warm water for half an hour. Then, lift them from the water and squeeze out most of the liquid. Reserve the liquid.

2. Melt butter in a large sauté pan. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté on medium heat. As the mushrooms begin to release their juices, stir in the wild leeks or garlic, the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt.

3. While the mushrooms are cooking, cook and drain the pasta so it will be ready as soon as the mushroom sauce is done. If the mushrooms begin to dry out, add a little water (use the mushroom water if using dry mushrooms). Cook the mushrooms until they begin to brown in spots. Stir in the cream.

4. Heat through until the mixture thickens a little (you can add more cream if you are serving 4 or more people.) Stir in a tablespoon or two of grated cheese and add some black pepper. In a large serving bowl mix pasta with the cream sauce a little at a time. if you add too much pasta it will be dry. Serve with fresh ground black pepper and grated cheese. Garnish with fresh parsley sprigs.
This should serve from 4 to 6 people, depending on appetites.



Crispy Mushroom Fry

Morels, sliced in half lengthwise
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko breadcrumbs (or flour, or other bread crumbs)
4 tablespoons of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, roll the morels in the beaten eggs. Make sure they’re fully covered.

2. In a separate bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.

3. Dip the egg-covered morels in the breadcrumbs, making sure all surfaces of the mushrooms are covered with the crumbs.

4. Melt the butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Fry the morels until they are brown and crispy on all sides.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup 

1 lb fresh morels, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cups stock (chicken, mushroom, beef, whatever)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup white wine
2 cups water
1 leek, chopped and using only the white part
3 potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste


1. Add the water to a soup pot and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, toss in the potatoes and let them cook until quite soft. This usually takes around 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the morels and leeks and cook until the morels are just beginning to brown.

3. Pour in the wine and cook until it has almost entirely evaporated. Then add your stock, stirring frequently. Remove from heat if the potatoes aren’t done yet.

4. When the potatoes are tender, allow the water to cool a little before putting the mixture into a blender. Blend until smooth and then return to the pot, water included.

5. Add the morel and leek mixture to the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes until it’s heated through.

6. Add the cream, salt, and pepper and stir until the soup is warmed and thickened to your liking.


Crab Stuffed Morels

12 medium to large morels, sliced in half lengthwise
1 cup crabmeat
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine the crabmeat, mayonnaise, beaten egg, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients well.

3. Spray the bottom of a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Melt the butter in a skillet and spread it on the bottom on the baking dish. Place the morels on the bottom of the dish with the hollow inside facing up.

4. Stuff each morel with the filling. Place in the oven and cook until the mushrooms are golden brown, around 8 to 15 minutes.