Morel Pasta – Homemade Pasta with Creamy Morel Mushroom Sauce
Springtime is here! With the impossibly green grass, daffodils, forsythia, and budding out leaves comes the emergence of Morel Mushrooms! Growing up, Morel hunting was a springtime tradition. My family had our “secret” Morel hunting spot where we went every spring. Morel hunting instills eagle eyes and a lot of patience, but the rewards are worth every leaf that is overturned. Morels are such a delicacy – perfect for sautéing, topping steaks, or making a Creamy Morel Mushroom Sauce and Morel Mushroom Pasta.
Last fall, when in France, I had the ultimate pleasure of having a classic Morel Pasta – a pasta dish with a creamy, white wine based sauce riddled with Morel Mushroom. It was absolutely divine! The woodsy taste brought me back to mushroom hunting as a kid.
Hunting Morels
I have been lucky enough to find Morels here on Whidbey, but not in the abundance of my childhood picking spot. I will continue to search to find an area with a plethora. Morels start showing up in the middle of April and hang out until June. Prime morel mushroom season is usually May. In the preceding few months, the growth of morels is fostered by wet nights and dry, warm days. The weather has a huge impact on when the mushrooms grow. They require daytime temperatures of at least 50 degrees and nighttime temperatures of at least 40 degrees. They prefer dampness, so search for them a few days after a warm spring shower. Usually, morel mushrooms are found in wooded areas, especially around dying or dead trees. Some morel hunters report finding them in fields and old orchards.
While you are hunting for your own “secret” Morel spot, you can purchase dehydrated Morels. They are actually really good! And, as an added bonus, you don’t have to clean them! The dehydrated mushrooms are rehydrated and used just as you would fresh ones. If you don’t tell anyone that they are re-hydrated, no one will ever know the difference! If you want to purchase some, Northwest Wild Foods has lovely dried morels: https://nwwildfoods.com?sca_ref=9552109.f8susya3ZW8K
If you are looking for another WONDERFUL mushroom recipe, check out my recipe for Creamy Chanterelle Sauce – perfect to go over chicken, steak, or pasta. https://northwestfrench.com/chicken-in-champagne-sauce-perfect-for-a-french-menu/
Creamy Morel Mushroom Sauce made with White Wine
Ingredients
- 1 oz Dried Morel Mushrooms OR 5 oz Fresh Morels
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 2 Tbsp Flour
- 1 Medium Shallot, peeled and finely diced
- 1 Small Garlic Clove, Pressed
- ¾ + ⅛ Cup Dry White Wine
- 1¼ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1½ Cup Heavy Cream
- 2 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, Chopped
- Salt/Pepper
Instructions
Morels – Rehydrating
- If using Fresh Morels, you can skip this step.
- In a bowl, add dried mushrooms. Cover with warm water. Allow to soak for 1 hour, occasionally stirring and pushing the mushrooms around in the water.
- Once rehydrated, remove Mushrooms to a paper towel and pat dry.
Morels – Preparing
- Set a couple mushrooms aside for garnish and chop the remaining mushrooms into roughly 1/2" pieces by first slicing the mushroom in half lengthwise, then slicing into 1/2" pieces.
- Set Mushrooms aside.
Begin the Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the Butter.
- Add Diced Shallots. Cook for 2-3 minutes until Shallots are tender.
- Press Garlic Clove into pan. Stir and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds.
- Add Chopped Mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the Mushroom/Shallot mixture. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add Wine and Chicken Broth. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add Heavy Cream. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add Chopped Parsley.
- Ladle out over pasta, chicken, or steak. Garnish with parsley and whole Morel Mushroom. Enjoy!
Homemade Einkorn Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Pasta Maker I prefer the hand cranked Atlas Pasta Maker from Italy
- 1 Pasta Drying Rack
Ingredients
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 Cup Einkorn Flour You can substitute regular AP flour, but will probably need to add a bit of water to make the dough come together and not be too dry.
- 1-2 Tbsp Einkorn Flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Making Pasta
- Add 1/2 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of Einkorn Flour and Salt to small bowl. Mix.
- Add Egg and Olive Oil. Mix.
- Adjust consistency by adding extra flour or a touch of water. The dough will just come together, but seem a bit dry. There is usually a bit of flour stuck to the edges of the bowl – that is ok. Push it together, so that it is in a flexible lump.
- Turn dough out onto parchment paper. Kneed a few times to bring dough together.
- It will have a soft, pliable consistency. It will not be sticky, nor will it be too dry to work with.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Once dough has rested, cut off chunks, re-wrapping the main piece of dough after each dough piece is cut off.
- Run the small chunk of dough through the pasta maker, starting at level 1. Run it through a couple times on level 1, then run it through at level 2. At this point, lay your dough out and cut it in half lengthwise.
- Take half of the cut dough and continue to run it through the press of the pasta maker – levels, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Once it is the correct thickness, run it through the cutter, which will cut your dough sheet into individual pasta pieces.
- Gently move the pasta pieces to your pasta drying rack. Separate the individual pieces of pasta and let dry while you make your sauce.
Cooking & Finishing Pasta
- Boil a large pot of water. Add a dash of salt and a splash of of olive oil.
- Once water is boiling, add the dried pasta by tipping each row of pasta off the drying rack into the boiling water.
- Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the pasta has risen to the top and is floating.
- Remove pasta to strainer. Drain.
- While pasta is in strainer, add a splash of Olive Oil to the bottom of the cooking pot.
- Place the pasta back in the cooking pot and stir to coat with Olive Oil, so the pasta doesn't turn into a big, stuck-together mess.
- Add a lovely sauce. Stir to coat. Serve and Enjoy.
This looks even more delectable than Chocolate Mousse! Beautiful noodles!
I had Morel Mushroom pasta on my last trip to France, which inspired this. I am SO HAPPY with how this turned out! Brought me right back to a hilltop village in the Luberon of Provence!