Morel Mushrooms; How to Cook Them
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Getting hold of Morel mushrooms (genus Morchella) can be difficult because of their short growing period, but they do make very tasty and healthy meals and are prized by top chefs for their earthy and nutty flavor. Cooking morels is simple and quick. The list of items to take into account are:-
- Ingredients
- Select your mushrooms
- Clean and rinse
- Chop up the mushrooms
- Cooking
Ingredients
- Morels – as many as you would like to eat.
- Cooking oil of any kind, but preferably olive oil
- Frying pan
- Kitchen Knife
- Garlic or onions or both
- Butter
Select Your Morel Mushrooms
The best Morels are small and firm on the outside. Try to ensure that they are free from bugs and litter, although cleaning can be carried out (see below). And the drier the better since moist morels are a bit spongy. An alternative is to find dried morel mushrooms for sale online.
When picking Morel mushrooms from the countryside note that there is a poisonous species of mushroom that looks like the morel. The way to distinguish between the two is to cut them open. A Morel is hollow inside, its similar-looking poisonous counterpart (the false Morel) is not.
Clean And Rinse
After picking your mushrooms, the next thing to do is clean them prior to further preparation. The cleaning process involves removing wormholes or spots, insects and dirt with a small brush.
There is not much cleaning involved when you purchase your morels from stores because they have already been cleaned. The upside of picking wild Morel mushrooms is that they are cheaper and fresher.
After cleaning properly, rinse the morels off to make sure that all the dirt is gone. Only rinse them for a few seconds so they do not absorb lots of water and become spongy.
Chop Up The Morel Mushrooms
When the mushrooms are clean, you can now chop them into smaller pieces for cooking. Chopping Morels is not all that difficult, first cut off all the stems and then you can chop the caps into halves or quarters. As you do this don’t forget to look out for a hollow inside (for a morel) or not (for a poisonous false morel).
Cooking The Morel Mushrooms
Heat the oil in a frying pan for a few seconds on a high heat. Add the chopped morels to the pan and stir to enable the oil to cover the mushrooms. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mushrooms sit for a few minutes, stirring now and again.
When the mushrooms have turned brown, add in garlic or onions as required. Allow everything to simmer for an extra few minutes whilst the garlic and onions turn brown. Add two of tablespoons of butter to the pan and allow them to melt. Stir everything around to ensure that the butter completely covers the mushrooms.
Once cooked you can add the morels to a dish or eat them on their own.
<<Click here for a Morel recipe book>>
Conclusion
Preparing a dish from Morel mushrooms is not difficult and it’s worth the effort. Morels are very tasty and healthy. You have to try them!
