My friend, Gretta, and her dad, Carl, have a family tradition of hunting for white, black, and 'half free' morels every April in the woods of Virginia. I had been dying to go with them but I discovered that morel season coincides with the tree pollen season, which leaves me sniffling, congested, and raccoon-eyed after only a few minutes outside.

Lucky for me, Gretta doesn’t like to eat them. So she surprised me with her bounty this weekend -- a generous 3 cups of fresh morels from her most recent trip with Carl.

I had been experimenting with a crepe recipe using dried morels with some success. But when I tried the same recipe with Gretta and Carl’s fresh morels, I knew I had a winner.

They found these near Leesburg, Virginia, but they also hunt for them along the banks of the Potomac River just outside of the Washington D.C. beltway. Carl's advice is to look for them near tulip poplar and ash trees where there are dips in the ground for moisture to collect, and to always remember the laws of mushroom hunting:

1. Wear your mushroom hunting hat.
2. Think mushrooms.
3. Mushrooms are where you find them.
4. You can't see them but they can see you

Buckwheat Crepes with Fresh Morels

Serves 2

 

For the buckwheat crepes (adapted from The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking):
½ cup flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Thoroughly blend all the ingredients with a hand blender for several minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for about an hour.

For morel mushroom sauce:
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh morel mushrooms
2 tablespoons armagnac
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 shallot
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons fresh chopped chives (1/2 inch in size)

Soak the fresh morels in cool salt water for about an hour to kill any critters. Drain them and spread them out on a plate lined with a paper towel. When you are ready to use them, slice them diagonally so you get some stem and some top in the same slice.

Finely dice the shallot. Heat a sauté pan and add butter. When the butter is sizzling, add the shallots and cook for about 1 minute. Pour the armagnac into the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and stir the mixture together, letting it cook 30 more seconds. Pour in the cream, add 2 tablespoons chopped chives, and simmer 1 – 2 minutes until mixture is thick. Garnish with remaining tablespoon chopped chives.

There will be enough leftover crepe batter for a few sweet crepes (I like to add fruit spread and powdered sugar to mine). Bon appetit!

Broiled Morels with Parmesan, Carl's Way
Serves 2 as an appetizer

2 cups fresh morels cut lengthwise in half
olive oil (the spray works well to lightly coat the mushrooms)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
black pepper
fresh chopped chives for garnish

Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and turn the broiler on high. Spread out the morels in oven-proof pan and spray them with olive oil spray to lightly coat. Season them with pepper and sprinkle cheese on top. Place the pan in the oven under the broiler for five minutes. Plate them and garnish with any extra cheese and chives.