I recently received a lovely gift of 8oz of dried morel mushrooms. And since I'm having a dinner party on Friday, I'd like to incorporate them into my dinner. I have some thoughts, but I thought I'd reach out to my fellow hounders for some brilliant and inspiring ideas.
Thanks in advance!
By FoodChic
on Oct 13, 2009 08:58 AM
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You could mince some garlic and saute them briefly after you rehydrate them and remove; in the saute pan, reduce some cream with some of the reserved (and strained) mushroom soaking liquid. Season w/salt, pepper, maybe some fresh thyme or a bit of sage. Then serve the mushrooms and sauce over croutons or in puff pastry cups (or even the filo tartlet cups you can buy frozen).
They're also wonderful in a creamy sauce for beef or chicken or pork.
Or make a mushroom tart, using a puff pastry sheet for the crust and then putting on some grated fontina or gruyere, some caramelized onion, and the mushrooms, rehydrated and lightly sauteed w/seasonings,herbs of your choice. use all morels or a mix of morels and other mushrooms. Bake until the cheese melts and the "crust" is brown. (I always spread a layer of grated parmesan on the pastry to help keep the bottom crisp.)
They're also good mixed with corn or peas. They love cream. One thing I don't think they go well with, ime, is seafood.
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FoodChic, 8 oz will create morels for several dishes. If you have a coffee grinder (wing style) you can turn some of the dried form into a delicious powder for eggs and pasta dishes. Refreshed in cold water for a bit and added to mashed potatoes or rice comes to mind. I love nomads suggestions.
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HillJ: Do you dust eggs/pasta w/the powder? Or mix it into the dish? Sounds good, but can you give me a sense of how much you would use?
And you're right--I hadn't thought about how much 8 oz. of dried morels are! A lot. Lucky Chic!
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nomad, Actually both ways depends on the other "competing" flavors. For instance, in scrambled (6 eggs for my family) I'll add a teaspoon of morel dust and only my dh will reach for the pepper mill. But in a quiche I would add one tablespoon to the entire batter recipe baked in. Pasta same scenario, ie: boiled pasta I'll sprinkle prior to service but ravioli I'll add to light sauce and pour over top. Dried the powder is intense in flavor IF the morels are recently dried. Dried morels lose flavor if left too long.
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Thanks, I'm going to try this. I also have a lot of dried porcinis. I'm guessing I could grind those and use them much the same way. I've had both fish and scallops dredged in dried porcini dust, and I wasn't crazy about the combination, but I love the earthiness of mushrooms in eggs, pasta, potatoes, as you suggest.
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Oh I love dried porcinis even more than morels! Have you tried the porcini powder in salad dressing? Marvelous!
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I will now!
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boy, unless you're determined to powder and sprinkle, i'd reconstitute some, slice them, saute them and put them in a nice cheese omelet.
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I'd rather not serve omelets at my dinner party, but will keep this in mind for breakfast. I have quite a few and there's no way I'll use them all for dinner.
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FoodChic, my bad on bypassing your dinner party needs in favor of more breakfast styled fare but if you make a nice pork/beef/lamb roast the morels will go beautifully as a side dish saute in wine & butter. Or as part of a roast stuffing.
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oh geez, me too. sorry, i was thinking about the mushrooms, not the context you set out.
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Soak them to rehydrate and use the broth for a rich risotto.
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http://www.blue-kitchen.com/2009/10/1...
I tracked down this version of roasted mushroom casserole for you. This really hits all the tasteful notes for maximizing the flavor as a side dish.
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Sounds wonderful. Thank you for posting.
I just returned from purchasing my dinner items at the grocery store. I decided to go with Barefoot Contessa's Chicken with Morels.
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Lovely choice!
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very nice choice
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Jacques Pepin did a great turkey scallopini with morels on one of his youtube episodes; it's 28 minutes, but it's in there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhazDY...
Make sure you get them really cleaned off and don't pour the last bit of the water with sand in.
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