Gather Round the Table: The Morel of the Story

Morel of the Story

There's no doubt, this was a banner year for the houby hunters around eastern Iowa. In addition to my regular crew of foragers who bring fungi into my restaurant on a regular basis, we've been getting all sorts of folks bringing in loads of beautiful morels. I even know of a cook at another restaurant who came back from one day of foraging with over forty pounds of morels, a couple of them ten inches tall and 5 inches across.

Though I hear rumors and read online about people who have supposedly succeeded in domesticating the morel, I've seen no concrete proof as yet. Indeed if someone had been at all successful producing morels in a controlled environment, and doing so economically and with flavor, that person would be quite wealthy now and all chefs would know about it. Suffice it to say that any morels you are likely to eat this spring were foraged in the woods.

Mushroom foraging is not something that should be attempted lightly. If you do not have the necessary expertise, then make sure you take someone with you who does. Remember this simple rule: if you're not dead certain, you may just be dead.

Having said that, the true morel is fairly easy to recognize, and there is only one fungus that resembles its "brain-" or "coral-" like head. Called the false morel, it looks like a morel someone stepped on, or one that grew near a nuclear power plant. It's misshapen, a deformed distant cousin to the true morel. It is also one of the most common sources of mushroom poisoning and should not be eaten.

So you've garnered the expertise (or the experts) and gone traipsing into the woods with a mesh bag (to help spread the spores) and you've brought home loads of your favorite fungus. Now that you have ten pounds of mushrooms, forest floor and bugs all over your kitchen counter, what to do next?

Mushrooms should be stored unwashed, covered but not airtight, in the warmest part of your fridge until ready to use. To clean them, begin by soaking them in plenty of heavily salted cold water. This kills insect and loosens grit. Drain them, rinse them, and split them individually from top to bottom (we do this because ants sometimes like to climb inside the hollow caps, often in great numbers), then rinse them again. Lay them out on paper towels and pat dry, then use them as you see fit.

They are wonderful sautéed in butter with a dry, light white wine, perhaps with a spritz of lemon juice. Perhaps my favorite preparation is to dredge them in flour, then beaten egg, then crushed saltine crackers, and fry them in butter, lard, or bacon grease. As Garrison Keillor might say, "heavens they're tasty, and expeditious."

Morels are also delicious in soup, make a fine cream sauce for chicken or steak and can even be pickled. Most people dry them though if planning to preserve them, and an ordinary Ronco-type food dehydrator works just fine for the purpose.

But perhaps you are in the mood for something a little more elaborate – not difficult, but meant to impress the neighbors. If so then this one is for you.

Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, and Morel Mushroom Strudel

1 sheet (12' x 12") puff pastry (available frozen at most grocery stores
4 ounces fresh local goat cheese (I use Northern Prairie Chevre)
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced red onions
1 1/2 cups morel mushrooms, sliced (or reconstitute 1/2 to 3/4 cup dried morels, drain water)
1 cup white wine
1 egg, beaten


Thaw the puff pastry by leaving on the counter, covered with a clean cloth, for about an hour. Allow the goat cheese to soften during the same time.

In sauté pan, melt butter. Add onions and slowly cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until they turn golden brown, about 30 minutes. Add mushrooms and the white wine and continue cooking. Allow mushrooms to absorb liquids. Then turn off heat and allow to cool.

Spread the goat cheese down the middle of the puff pastry. Next, top with onion and mushroom mixture. Take a small amount of water and wet the edges of the pastry to help seal the strudel. Fold one side all the way over the fillings and press down. Then take the other side and repeat.

Press down all the way around the strudel and make sure it is sealed. Glaze with the beaten egg using a pastry brush, and then make 5 or 6 diagonal slits in the top to allow steam to escape

Bake on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees until golden brown and puffed for 30 to 45 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings

		Kurt Michael Friese, Gather Food Correspondent
	Gather 'Round the Table is a regular feature of Gather Essentials: Food. Chef Kurt Michael Friese is a freelance food and wine writer & photographer. He is also the co-owner - with his wife Kim - of Devotay, a restaurant in Iowa City, serves on the Slow Food USA Board of Directors, and is Editor-in-Chief of the local food magazine Edible Iowa River Valley. He lives in rural Johnson County, Iowa. Keep up with Kurt Michael's food series by joining his network, or subscribing to his content.