Morel Mushroom Herbed Omelet

   
    I tempted you with this picture in a prior post, showing a gorgeous mess of morels that my son found on the farm. Today I cooked about a third of them for our lunch. Our idea of the best way to cook morels is to fry in lots of butter. I use salted butter and that is all the seasoning these amazing mushrooms need for you to just pick up and devour.
    But first you need to clean them. When you bring them in, put them into a bowl of cool salted water. Why? Because these little suckers are hollow from the root all the way up to the tip. That means that ants and bugs, dirt and sticks can be in there. The water helps loosen it all; the salt convinces the bugs to swim for it. Once they've soaked for at least 10 minutes, pour them into a colander and rinse. You can even tip up the big ones and wash out the insides. Then let them air dry.

     When they are dry you can put them in a plastic or paper sack, unsealed, in your crisper drawer. Or you can cook them. I put a good amount of salted butter in the skillet and turn the flame on med-high. Then I cut some of the large ones into strips that will fry flat and even in the pan and be perfect for picking up to munch. Smaller ones I chopped bite sized and dumped in. The smell that rises from the pan is incredible! Instead of a mushroom taste and smell, I think these have a texture and taste similar to a roasted meat. So, so good.

    While these were cooking I went out to the herb garden and picked a tiny bit of oregano, thyme, and chives. My herbs have been up for a month or more already.

Then I cracked some fresh eggs from my lovely hens that I wrote about in Chicken and Egg. To this I added the chopped herbs and a pinch of coarse Kosher salt and a good dash of pepper.

 

The morels fried up lovely brown with crispy edges and buttery juices. We promptly ate the large strips. I say "promptly", but in a savoring manner. You don't snarf down a morel, you nibble and sigh.

The skillet was still slicked with the leftover butter and it had been infused with all the wonderful morel oils. You don't want to waste that! So a tad more butter and my egg and herb mixture went into the skillet. I had a package of prosciutto in the fridge for pork saltimbocca later in the week, but I stole one paper-thin sheet to lay over the chopped morels that I scattered on the egg mixture. And just before I folded it over, I grated on some hard Parmesan cheese. The prosciuttto and cheese were just for some added salt and depth. You don't want to cover up the morel taste.

   My son thought it was a nice lunch before heading off to the restaurant where he works. He's not one for a lot of pasta, but that is another way you could celebrate the short season of morels. 

   Just fry the chopped mushrooms in butter like I did here, but when they are cooked brown and crusty, pour a touch of cream over the morels in the pan. Not enough to swamp things, just enough for you to stir into the butter and morel juices. Salt and pepper this to taste; I like a little cayenne. Then toss in a clump of hot pasta noodles and swirl to coat with all the "sauce". Top with some grated Parmesan and enjoy a meal worthy of a fine restaurant. 

    Online sources say that you can pay $30-70 a pound for fresh morels. Get on your walking shoes and look for some while they last! But as a final note, I have to warn you. Never ask someone where they found their morels. This is like asking for the recipe that great-granny swears to take to the grave before revealing. You will get some narrow-eyed looks from mushroom hunters. And if you think you can hop a fence to see if you can find some on a neighbor's plot, well, you might just have the dogs set on you. 

Don't say I didn't tell you.

"If one could only tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools." 

~ Katherine Mansfield