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Savory Corn Bread Topped with Slow Roasted Morels in Thyme Infused Mushroom Broth

Earthy Delights Guest Chefs
Earthy Delights' Recipe Collection

Morel Mushroom Ravioli

Morel Mushroom Soup

The stock recipe yields 8 cups; there will be about 1 1/2 cups left over after you make the mushroom soup. To prepare the mushrooms for this soup, wipe them clean with a damp paper towel. You may need to rinse quickly to dislodge any dirt from crevices.

For chicken stock

• 2 medium leeks, ends trimmed
• 4 pounds chicken wings, rinsed
• 3 quarts plus 3 cups cold water
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 fresh thyme sprigs
• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

For wild mushroom soup:

• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 15 ounces morels, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
• 6 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/3 cup finely diced peeled carrot
• 1/3 cup finely diced peeled turnip
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

Preparation of chicken stock:

Cut off dark green tops from leeks and reserve for soup. Cut white and pale green sections lengthwise in half. Rinse any dirt from leeks with cold water. Cut halves into 1-inch pieces. Place in 8- to 10-quart pot. Add chicken wings. Add water, carrots, onion, thyme, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 2 hours 15 minutes, occasionally skimming foam from surface.

Strain stock through fine sieve into large bowl. Chill stock until fat hardens on surface, about 2 hours. Spoon off fat and discard. Measure stock. If necessary, simmer in large saucepan until reduced to 8 cups.

Preparation of Morel Mushroom soup:

Bring 1/2 cup stock to simmer in saucepan. Add saffron; set aside to steep. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic; stir 1 minute. Add 1/3 of wild mushrooms and all of white mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms release liquid, about 8 minutes. Add curry powder; sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes. Add saffron mixture and 6 cups stock.

Simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Puree cooked mushrooms and 1 cup mushroom broth in processor until almost smooth. Return mushroom puree to saucepan with broth. Simmer soup 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sauté remaining Morels in butter over medium-high heat until tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into 4 shallow bowls. Top with sautéed Morels and serve.

4 servings

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Salmon Fillets With Morels

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 5 shallots, minced
• 18 ounces morels, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
• 3/4 cup bottled clam juice
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons whipped cream
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 6 8-ounce salmon fillets
• fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add Morels; sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add clam juice and wine; boil until liquids have almost evaporated, about 20 minutes.

Add cream to mushrooms; boil until thickened, about 1 minute. Mix in chopped tarragon. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat broiler. Arrange salmon skin side down on broiler pan. Brush with lemon juice, then butter. Broil until just cooked through, without turning, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to plates. Spoon Morels over.

Serves 6

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Morel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar plus additional to taste
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 24 fresh morels (about 1 pound),cleaned and trimmed (or 1 ounce dried morels, soaked, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid) 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 2 cups chicken stock fresh lemon juice to taste

In a small heavy saucepan boil water with sugar, without stirring, until a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add red-wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar down side of pan. Stir mixture over moderate heat until caramel is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat.

In a heavy saucepan cook morels in butter, stirring, over moderate heat until liquid from morels is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer morels with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve. Add shallots to pan and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in wine and boil until reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

Add stock and reserved morel soaking liquid (if using dried morels) and reduce to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in caramel mixture. Add morels to sauce with salt and pepper to taste. If desired stir in additional Balsamic Vinegar, 1 teaspoon at a time, and lemon juice.

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Spring Wild Harvest Ragout With Fiddlehead Greens & Morels

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fiddleheads, cleaned (link)
• 1/2 pound "baby" pattypan squash, trimmed
• 1/2 pound baby carrots, trimmed
• 3/4 cup shelled fresh peas
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 pound pearl onions, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute, peeled, and trimmed
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 pound fresh morels, cleaned and trimmed and sliced
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Boil the fiddleheads in salted water for 4 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender. Drain and plunge in ice water to stop the cooking. When cool, drain in a colander. Repeat the process of boiling and cooling with the squash and the carrots. Boil the peas for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they are just tender, and drain them.

In a large heavy skillet combine 2 tablespoons of the butter, the onions, the thyme, the bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the morels and 1/2 cup of the remaining broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the morels are tender.

Add the fiddleheads, the squash, the carrots, and the remaining 1/4 cup broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 1 minute. Add the peas, the parsley, the mint, and the garlic and simmer, covered, for 1 minute.

Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, stirring until the butter is just melted. Discard the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 6

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Morel Mushroom Ravioli

Ingredients:

• 6 Ounces fresh morel mushrooms, sliced or chopped (approximately 2 ½ cups)
• 1/3 Cup dry white wine
• 3 Cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon snipped fresh thyme
• ¼ Teaspoon salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 Cup ricotta cheese
• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives
• Ravioli dough (recipe follows)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Cup evaporated skim milk
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

Combine mushrooms, wine, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and no liquid remains.

Remove from heat. Remove ½ cup of the mixture, leaving the remaining mixture in the saucepan.

Finely chop the ½ cup mushroom mixture. Stir the chopped mixture with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and chives, then set aside.

pide the dough into two portions. Roll each portion on a floured surface into a rectangle about 12X9 inches. If using a pasta machine, pass the dough through until it's 1/16 inch thick, dusting with additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Using a pastry wheel, cut the dough into 2-inch wide strips.

Place about 1 ½ teaspoons of the filling at 2-inch intervals down the center of half of the strips. Use a pastry brush to brush water onto the dough around the mounds of filling. Carefully place a second sheet of dough on top of the first. Using the side of your hand, press the pasta around each mound of filling so the two sheets of moistened dough will stick to one another. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut the pastry between the mounds of filling.

Arrange inpidual raviolis in a single layer on a floured surface until they're ready to cook. Cook the ravioli for 6-8 minutes in a 4-quart pot of boiling, lightly salted water. Drain.

To make the sauce, stir together the evaporated skim milk and 1 tablespoon of flour. Add to the remaining mushroom mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute more.

Arrange the ravioli on appetizer plates. Top with the sauce.

Serves 6

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Savory Corn Bread Topped with Slow Roasted Morels
in Thyme Infused Mushroom Broth

This is part of Chef Chris Perkey's "Celebrates Spring Wild Harvest" recipe. He was featured guest chef in earthy.com in April 99. For more recipes, visit earthy.com or wildharvest.com

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Fine Ground Corn Meal (Red, Yellow or Blue will work)
  
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
  
• 6 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  
• 1 tbsp Honey
  
• 1/2 tbsp Molasses
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1 cup Whole Milk
  

Preparation:

Preheat Oven to 350 F

Mix the first four ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Cut in the Butter using a fork or two knives until the texture of coarse corn meal. Mix the remaining ingredients together in separate bowl. Slowly add the two together and mix well.

Grease twelve 4" by 3/4" nonstick muffin molds and distribute equal amounts of batter into each.
Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.
Pull out of oven and cool on bakery rack until room temperature.
You may keep the muffins for two days wrapped in plastic at room temperature.

For the Morels

• 30 to 40 medium size morels
  
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  
• 1/4 cup thyme leaves
  
• 1 tbsp chopped Garlic
  
• 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  
• 2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 200 F
Lightly toss all ingredients together in roasting pan, cover and bake for 1 hour until the morels are soft. Strain and reserve the liquid.

Presentation:

Place one of the savory corn muffins in the middle of 6 soup bowls. Top with 5 or 6 of the Morels.
Pour the reserved liquid in equal proportions among the 6 bowls.
Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and serve immediately.

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Fiddleheads, Morels & Wild Leeks
The Grand Trio of Spring

Earthy Delights is celebrating the 15th Spring Season with a Tribute to the Bounty of Nature.
Each Spring Mother Nature has offered us abundant supplies of Morels, Fiddleheads and Wild Leeks. These are the Bounty most sought by Spring Foragers in North America. To better understand and enjoy these product, visit wildharvest.com

Wild Leeks, Morels, and Fiddleheads

"What really won us over were the mushrooms; fresh wild morels and chanterelles in season, fresh shiitake, porcini, woodear, black trumpet and lobster mushrooms; plus 15 dried varieties.

SmartMoney Magazine. February 2000