The Search For Morels As Satisfying As The Flavor

I have eaten morel mushrooms for years, but finding my first morel was a moment of astonishment and delight that I will always remember.

It happened, oddly enough, a week after completing an obituary to my great Uncle Nat who, many years ago, had founded the New England Mycological Society and who had taught me to identify and appreciate morels.

I was pruning two small hemlocks in the meadow in front of our house when I chanced, for no apparent reason, to look down. There it was, square between my two white Reeboks - my first morel, miraculously untrampled.

Although I would like to think of my beloved uncle residing for eternity up above, at that moment I felt certain that the morel was a message of “right on” (his favorite expression of approval, proffered sparingly) directly from below.

That is the magic of the morel. Where a moment before there seemed to be none in sight, suddenly they come into focus like phantoms materializing before your eyes. It was as if Uncle Nat had passed on the gift of his keen mushroom visualization, for every spring thereafter I have found morels and sometimes in grand luxurious quantity (11 pounds last year!).

Here’s my secret: Starting around Mother’s Day, I go out to our meadow, crouch low and stare at the ground for several seconds, allowing my eyes to go out of focus to achieve stereoscopic vision (the ability to see pictures within pictures, as in Magic Eye). That is necessary because the morel, with its earthy colors and convoluted surface, possesses a natural camouflage.

If no morel pops into my line of sight, I stroll down the road, repeating the special trance-like stare in areas near dying trees, the favorite habitat of morels. I repeat the Uncle Nat mantra - “dying ash and elm, dying ash and elm” - although these days there are no longer any elm to die and pine trees seem to work about as well.

Each new find is a special thrill. Perhaps the nicest part is the feeling of the earth providing the gift of unexpected and untoiled-for sustenance. It makes one a believer in the sustaining goodness of life, described in the Bible as the Garden of Eden.

Mushroom hunters are a gentle but superstitious breed. I, for example, never take a bag or container with me on my walk because I fear that this very act of expectation is sure death to the pure serendipity of finding anything worth putting into it.

So when the mushrooms appear, I make a pouch for them from the lower part of my long T-shirt. Once I found so many I walked back to the house with what appeared to be giant, lumpy-bumpy belly and a big grin to go with it.

Morels are delicious simply sauteed in butter with a little garlic as a first course or served with poultry, veal, asparagus, pasta or rice. They are also lovely in an omelet with a few snippings of fresh chives or parsley. Do not scramble them with the eggs, however, as they curdle them.

My Aunt Margaret, a disciple of Nat’s years before I got the religion, taught me the invaluable and littleknown fact that home-dried morels have a more intense and concentrated flavor than fresh ones. (Commercial morels are often dried over fires producing a predominantly smoky flavor.)

To dry morels, place the cleaned morels (see recipe below) on racks and then set them overnight in an oven with a pilot light. If your oven does not have a pilot light, the morels can be air-dried by setting them on racks or brown paper bags in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.

The dried mushrooms are rigid to the touch and significantly reduced in size. Stored in airtight containers, such as Mason jars, they will keep for years. When ready to use them, simply soak them in water for about 20 minutes or until softened. Then drain, reserving the flavorful water to add to the recipe.

When dried, the stems often toughen. Simply snap them off and grind the stems in the food processor. The powder makes a flavorful addition to soups, grains or rice.

My favorite way to cook morels comes from Uncle Nat.

Sauteed Morels

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt

Cold water

1 pound morel mushrooms

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large clove garlic, smashed with broad side of knife

Freshly ground black pepper

Stir together salt and several cups cold water in large bowl. Add mushrooms and allow them to soak about 10 minutes. (Salt draws out any live insects that may be lurking in the mushrooms’ crevices and central cavities.)

Remove mushrooms to colander and rinse well under cold running water to remove any dirt. Cut off stem bottoms and any stems that may be tough. Slice each mushroom into 1/8-inch-thick rounds or cut them into pieces, depending on size of mushroom.

Melt butter in large, heavy skillet with lid over medium heat. When bubbling, add garlic and mushrooms. Cover and cook on low heat until mushrooms soften and become tender, about 10 minutes.

Continue cooking, uncovered, over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring often, until all liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to glaze slightly. Season to taste with black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Yield: 4 servings.

Warning: Do not pick wild mushrooms unless you have had expert training in their identification. Information is available from the U.S. Forest Service in Spokane at 353-2574.