A May of Morels

Morels, morels, morels are on the mind and the tip of the tongue. While Mother Nature decided to wait a bit before spring this year, just last week I was in the restaurant and was lucky to get a call from a local who brings us the most divine little knobs of mushroom heaven. The moment I heard her voice, my excitement and anticipation escalated. She informed me that she should have some morels ready to deliver the first week of the month. After they’re tenderly transported to our back door in the ever-so-slightly damp brown paper bag, wet from the forest floor, we gingerly lay them out on paper towels and search for the four or five largest shrooms. We always find so many perfect ones that have deep ridges running from tip to stem and are nearly cylindrical that it’s tough to pick a favorite.

As I began writing this column I received an e-mail from my uncle who lives in Ohio telling of his recent luck, after several unsuccessful morel mushroom hunting. While in his backyard he just happened to glance at the base of a short flag stone wall flanking his patio and found his first morel growing out from some river rock spread throughout a bed of ground covering juniper.

Upon finding his first surprise, my uncle gently trimmed it, sautéed it with a little salt and pepper and cherished it with knife and fork. Unfortunately, I found out after the meal, that he had sautéed it in margarine. Had he jumped online to catch his nephew, not only would he have told the world, he could have gotten a couple tips.

There has been limited success cultivating morels, yet mushroom foragers have developed ways to encourage the little gems’ growth for years. Every so often these mushrooms will pop up in unexpected places - some call it anomalies; I call it Mother Nature giving us a surprise.

At Niche, we love to trim the stems and stuff the mushroom with a moist and juicy house made fresh sausage. After gently browning it in whole butter (mmmhhh… Uncle Neil) we roast it and then carve it with a rich and meaty reduction sauce. Keep an eye out on facebook and twitter; I’ll let you know when they come in the door. I think they will be a perfect fit for a Saturday morsel. Until next time… Chef Jeremy

Tags: Morel, mushroom hunting, mushrooms, Spring