A rainy June makes for some good Morel hunting, and if you listen closely you can hear people talking about their adventures. However, the best hunters keep their patches a secret! These prized mushrooms are typically found in areas of the forest that have been scorched by a wildfire and in Montana that leaves a lot of land to explore. The first step is to pick a time and a place. Time: a sunny Saturday after a rain drenched week. Place: I will not give specifics but Montana back country. Now the challenge of finding the patch begins. The team loaded up the VW bus, armed with their buckets, bags, bikes and their senses set on the precious Morel! In the end the Posh gang was able to follow the rainbow leading to a pot of gold, or shall we say field fungi. Morels tend to nestle in mossy areas, therefore all eyes must be fixed on the ground. A glisten of hope is; find one morel you are likely to find a whole family.The journey required a 6 mile bike uphill, and involved four hours of picking. When the brave returned home they were covered from head to toe in black ash, but they also had a window screen filled with their treasure! Now comes the fun part, eating. These wonderful mushrooms can be added to a dish much like any mushroom. The recipe used by Ana and Jason was a Morel Stroganoff, using dehydrated Morels.
Morel Stroganoff
1 cup dehydrated Morels
2 cups Hot Water
1 1/2 Lbs. Cubed round steak, cut into strips.
1 Can Tomato Puree
Splash of Cognac
Splash of Cream
1) To rehydrate the Morels combine one cup with two cups of hot water, and once the mushrooms are hydrated remove from the water. The water can be saved for a stock to use in the sauce. Pass the water through a coffee filter to remove the little mushroom bits.
2) Sear the strips of steak on a frying pan.
3) Add the tomato puree, the mushrooms, cognac, and cream.
4) Allow the sauce to cook and serve over rice, pasta or even risotto.
Happy Hunting!
No comments:
Post a Comment