Got morel mushrooms? Try these recipes.

Morel mushrooms, a delicacy found in areas that have had recent forest fires, are having a good year.

Hundreds of NWT residents and travellers from farther afield have been out on the land this summer, representing the territory’s biggest morel season in a decade.

If you now have a bunch of these mushrooms at home, here are some recipes we’ve collected to give you inspiration for morel meals.

Whether you’re a beginner or expert chef, there’s a recipe for you to become a champi(gn)on in the kitchen.

First, a couple of tips from our chefs about safe consumption of morels:

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Remember to wash your morels. Rinse quickly in lukewarm water, place in a strainer or colander and toss to shake water out of the cavities
Cook thoroughly, no matter if you are using natural, cultivated or fire morels, fresh or dried
If consuming morels for the first time, eat only a few and wait 24 hours to observe any effects before consuming more
Take great care with alcohol consumption when consuming morels. This applies to both beverages accompanying the meal and any alcohol included in dish preparation

A morel mushroom grows in a burn area in the NWT. Emily Blake/Cabin Radio

Roasted asparagus with morels and shallot butter

Submitted by Velma Sterenberg
Level: Beginner

Ingredients:

1.5 Ib (750 g) thin asparagus spears, tough ends removed
.25 lb (125 g) fresh or rehydrated morel mushrooms
4 tablespoons (2 oz/60 g) unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Look for thin asparagus spears for this dish; they are generally more tender and the stalks do not require peeling before cooking.

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Preheat the oven to 450°F (23O°C).

Place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet large enough to hold them in a single layer.

Brush the morels clean. If dirty, rinse briefly in cold water; then pat dry with paper towels. If the morels are large, cut them crosswise into rings .25 inch (6 mm) wide. Leave small ones whole.

Add the mushrooms to the baking sheet holding the asparagus.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the shallots and sauté for 1 minute to release their flavor.

Drizzle the shallot butter evenly over the asparagus and morels. Scatter the tarragon over the top and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, toss the asparagus and morels in the butter and tarragon until evenly coated, then spread them into a single layer again.

Roast until the asparagus is lightly browned but still crisp and the morels are dark brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the asparagus and morels to a serving platter a drizzle any pan juices over the top. Serve at once.

Morel mushrooms on a plate. Taiftin/Dreamstime

Morel pizza

Submitted by Velma Sterenberg
Level: Intermediate

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Ingredients:

½ lb fresh morels or 3 generous handfuls dried morels
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1t. Demerara sugar (optional)
½ cup Feta cheese, crumbled
2 pkg mini naan, plain or garlic flavoured
Salt and pepper to taste
Other spices optional

Preparation:

Slice onion.

Crumble Feta cheese and place on microwave proof plate.

If using fresh morels, rinse to remove ashes, insects etc, shake to remove most of water and chop coarsely.

If using dried morels, crumble with your hands into a bowl and reconstitute in warm water. (Note: See “options” below.)

While morels are softening or draining, warm a pan, melt your choice of butter, oil etc and add onions. Caramelize the onions, adding the Demerara sugar if desired. Take care not to burn them, but a few crisp bits will add the “crunch” that the Chopped judges seem to like. I do not use sugar as caramelized red onion is sweet enough for me.

Remove caramelized onions from pan and keep warm.

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If using dried morels, remove pieces from bowl with slotted spoon and strain particles from remaining liquid.

Add more oil/butter to the pan and scatter fresh or reconstituted fungi evenly over surface. Add whatever spices you want at this time. (Remember that Feta is salty.)

Sauté gently, no less than 10-15 minutes, until thoroughly cooked, turning often to ensure all pieces are equally cooked. Use low enough heat that there is still some juice in the pan after 15 minutes. If using dried morels, add a bit of the liquid used to reconstitute.

Add caramelized onions, mix well to blend evenly and turn off the heat.

Toast the mini naan and microwave the Feta cheese for 10-20 sec.

Place naan on salad plate, top with mixture of morels and onions, Scatter softened Feta cheese to taste.

For appetizers, slice thinly and serve. For a light meal, serve whole.

An option if you have previously eaten morels and alcohol with no ill effect:

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If using fresh morels, add a splash of wine or vermouth immediately after they have released their maximum liquid in the pan.

If using dried morels, reconstitute with red wine instead of water. Remove morels, strain solids from wine and add a splash to morels after around five minutes of cooking. Save the remaining morel-infused wine for other uses like soup, pasta sauce or stew, noting that drinking it isn’t recommended.

Morel cream sauce with blueberries

Submitted by Sandra Mann
Level: Intermediate

This is a great sauce to accompany duck or chicken. You can omit the blueberries for an excellent sauce for any other meat or fish. Suggest using beef stock if using sauce for red meat.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh morels, coarsely chopped (approx 1/3 lb) – you can use dried morels and reconstitute*
1 large shallot or cooking onion, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups chicken or veg stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (use lemon thyme if available)
1/3 cup frozen or fresh wild blueberries
salt and pepper to taste

* If using dry morels, reconstitute by placing in hot water for about 30 mins before chopping; reserve the liquid and strain if necessary

Preparation:

Cook the shallots in butter and oil over medium-low to medium heat until translucent.

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Add morels, salt and pepper and cook for approx 5 min. If using fresh morels, they should “sweat” until most of the liquid is cooked off. You may notice a yellow tinge around the pan as you cook fresh morels – don’t worry, the yellow tinge is morel spores being released by the heat.

Add wine and stock (and reserved liquid if using dry morels) and cook until liquid is reduced by about 2/3.

Add blueberries and cook for 1 minute.

Take the pan off heat for a minute to let the liquid stop simmering, then slowly add cream while stirring. Return to medium to medium-low heat and simmer gently for about 10-15 min until the sauce will coat the back of a spoon.