As I was carrying up some trimmings of the bushes at the bottom of the yard, I happened to look up the hill and spotted something brown. What could it be? After depositing the brush I returned to investigate and…there it was…a perfect and very large morel! I had tried to buy some from a friend earlier this month. She had only found 1 pound, whereas the normal haul was more like 25 pounds from her property. I heard a buzz at the farmers’ market on Wednesday that they were going for $45 a pound last week. The reason for this high price? A warm and dry April is the best guess. With a rain last night, this guy just popped right up under a tree. I have never found one in your yard in all the 18 years we have lived here. Free food is always good, especially when it’s a highly prized mushroom like this one. Weighing in at 2 ounces, that calculates to being worth 5.63 on last week’s market. Crazy…crazy good!
So what to do with one beautiful fungi? Why lunch of course! My favorite way to eat them happens to be about the simplest to fix. Butter, cream, a few fresh herbs from the garden…and toasty bread to sop up all the goodness.
My first blog just about a year ago was about morels. So…here’s our anniversary lunch…
Print Recipe Here
Creamed Morel on Toast
Serves 1 (lucky thing that hubby was at work–he’ll never know)
Prep time: 10 minutes
1 perfect morel, about 2 ounces, diced
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup cream
1 slice of whole wheat toast
Shake the bugs out of the morel. Cut in two lengthwise. Rinse out any remaining bugs…one guy was hiding. Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add the morel and cook a minute or two. Season with salt, pepper, chives and thyme. Add the cream and cook on high while the bread is toasting. About that time the sauce should be thickened. Pour over the toast and enjoy the rites of spring.
