"Mushrooms" in Ink, Morels in Cream

Here's the review of the documentary, "Know Your Mushrooms" I wrote for Squid Ink. I planned to run the review with a recipe from Joe's mushroom phylogenist friend, Tess, but the recipe didn't make it into the final copy so I'm reprinting it here as a Live and Active cultures EXLUSIVE recipe.

May (and into June) is "morel month" in the mushrooming community (Morels can be several species of the Morchella genus).
And then the beginning of June and through the summer is Porcini (Boletus edulis) time.

Both mushrooms grow all over the world in wooded areas. They are both "mycorrhizal" fungi, meaning they grow in association with plants roots, in this case tree roots.

Those are the two main wild mushrooms people can easily find or buy at all times of the year, either fresh or dried. Actually, both are great even when dried. Here is a recipe using morels. It is a pretty common combination of cream and morels, but it's not copied from any specific recipe, so that should be good for you to print.
It is great on bread as an appetizer, or over pasta, or with grilled chicken or steak, etc.

Morels in Cream
8 oz. fresh morels (or 1 oz. dried)
1 cup cream
2 oz. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Additional ingredients for variation:
1 t. chopped fresh herb such as parsley, thyme, basil, sage, or chervil, etc.
1 chopped shallot
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 c. white wine

Begin by blanching morels, both fresh or dried. This helps remove dirt and some compounds from the mushrooms that are potential carcinogens. To blanche, slice morels either lengthwise or crosswise and place in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them, soak 5 minutes then discard the water.
Add blanched mushrooms and butter to a heated skillet or sauce pan. Saute' 5 minutes. Add wine, if using, and reduce. Add cream and herbs and reduce to desired consistency- thinner if serving over pasta, thicker if serving over meat, and thicker still if serving over bread.

That's the recipe. It's simple, easy, versatile and tastes delicious!

Tess makes and does a lot of cool stuff on her blog, Homegrown. Thanks again for the recipe, Tess! I'm super excited to try it!