MOREL MUSHROOM RECIPES

Chicken breasts with Morel Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients
75g/3oz butter
¼ kilo/10oz of morels washed and sliced
1 spring onion or scallion including the green
½ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
Black pepper
Sea salt
Flat leaved parsley
¼ pint dry white wine
½ pint double cream
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and sauté in butter until cooked through, then leave to rest. Sauté the morels in foaming butter, for about fifteen minutes until they are slightly crispy. Add the thinly sliced spring onion tops, parsley, nutmeg and season. Raise the heat and deglaze the mushrooms with the white wine, reduce the heat and add the cream and mustard and boil until the sauce has thickened, add the chicken and heat through.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 ounces butter
1 lb. morels, sliced
1 pint of fresh chicken stock
3 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish or to taste
½ pint of sour cream
Sea Salt and freshly ground white pepper
5 oz. porcini mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

In a frying pan sauté the onion, celery, and leek in some of the butter over low heat until soft and translucent, but not brow. Add the morels to the pan and sauté gently for six minutes. Add the chicken stock to the saucepan and simmer for half an hour. Puree half the soup in a blender.

Make the horseradish cream by mixing the horseradish with the sour cream and some pepper.

Melt a little of the butter in a frying pan and fry the porcini mushrooms and parsley. Serve the soup in deep bowls with the whole mushrooms on top and a dollop of the horseradish cream.

Ingredients
4 large fresh globe artichokes
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
300g/10oz mixed wild mushrooms, morels, and chanterelles cleaned and cubed
2 teaspoon fresh lemon thyme leaves
90ml/3fl oz dry vermouth
150g/6oz mascarpone cheese
Salt and pepper
25g/1oz walnuts, crushed
Olive oil
Juice of a whole lemon

Method
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a good measure of lemon juice and olive oil to the water and salt. To prepare the artichokes, cut off the stem and slice a third off the top. Pull out what you can from the centre with your fingers, and then use a spoon to scoop out the entire hairy choke. Place the heart in the boiling water and cook until tender, about 30-40 minutes. They are done when you pull a leaf out of the centre easily. Drain until dry.

Preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 6.
Make the stuffing
Make the stuffing, melt the butter on moderate heat and add the mushrooms, garlic and thyme and salt and pepper. When they have begun to soften, pour in the vermouth and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the mascarpone, stirring well.
Spoon the stuffing into the middle of the drained artichokes. Sprinkle with crushed walnuts and bake until heated through and golden on top, about twelve minutes, top with a few fresh thyme leaves and serve use the leaves of the artichoke to scoop out the creamy filling.

2 T bone steaks
2 oz (60g) dried morels
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup quality red wine
1 cup homemade beef stock
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
4 oz thick cream
salt and pepper

Crush a few morels and then add hot water to cover, and add freshly ground black pepper to the steaks. Never season a steak with salt before cooking as it draws out the liquid, add salt when the steak is resting.

Pre-heat over to 250 degrees. Melt the butter in a pan over medium to high heat and cook steaks, a minute on each side. Add shallots and another tablespoon of butter if necessary. Saute a minute or two, then de-glaze with red wine. Add mushrooms and their liquid and reduce. When liquid is mostly evaporated add beef stock, thyme, and a few tablespoons of heavy cream. Sauce should remain dark. Reduce and pour over steaks.

Ingredients
Polenta
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch kale, stemmed, cut into 1-inch strips
2 ounces pancetta
4 ounces dried morels, soaked in 1 cup hot water for 30 minutes then halved, reserve liquid
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 Tablespoons cream
1 Tablespoon butter
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Bring milk, water, polenta, salt, and pepper to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thick, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. The polenta should start to pull away from the pan and not be gritty at all. Add more hot water as needed to keep a creamy consistency. Reduce heat to lowest and cover.

Meanwhile, cook pancetta in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add kale, some salt and 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Then add mushrooms, saute for a few minutes until tender. Add garlic, broth, thyme and pancetta. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook stirring from time to time for about 20 minutes, adding a little water if necessary. It should stay rather soupy. Stir lemon peel, cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Whisk butter and Parmesan into polenta and divide among plates. Top with kale mixture.

Morel Mushroom Sauce With Pasta
Ingredients
75g Dried Morels
250g Oyster Mushrooms
100g Leeks finely chopped, including the green
250g wholewheat linguine cooked and kept warm
3 Tablespoons Butter
½ Pint Double Cream
2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Finely Chopped French Tarragon
Freshly Grated Parmesan

Method.
Cook the pasta according to instructions on the packet. Soak the Dried Morels in enough warm water to cover them for 30 minutes, then squeeze out most of the liquid and reserve. Slice the oyster mushrooms

Melt the butter in a large heavy based frying pan and saute the morels and the oyster mushrooms,when they release their juices add the finely chopped garlic, the chopped tarragon. Stir in the cream and some of the liquid from the re-hydrated mushrooms until it reaches a smooth consistency and cook for a few minutes.

Serve with fresh ground black pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Ingredients:

2 cups brown basmati rice, washed and drained
4 medium onions
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1/2 pound fresh morel mushrooms, halved and cleaned
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
6 whole cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, about 3 inches long
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt

Place the basmati rice in a bowl. Add 4 cups of cold water and soak for about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the water used for soaking. Slice 2 of the onions into paper thin slices and finely chop the remaining 2 onions.

Make the Crispy Fried Onions. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Fry the paper-thin onions until dark brown, about 20 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the onions from burning. Remove the onions using a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. The onions will crisp as they cool.
In the same pan and oil used to fry the onions, add the cumin seeds and cook for a few seconds over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and cook until light brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the onions from burning. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the morel mushrooms and saute for about 3 minutes, until the morels are fragrant. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf and continue cooking until the spices are slightly puffed.

Stir in the drained basmati rice and cook until the rice is thoroughly coated in oil and lightly browned. Add the reserved soaking water and salt. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.Cover and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed. Reduce the heat to low and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and rest for at least 5 minutes.Sprinkle the crispy fried onions on top as a garnish