Pappardelle with Morel Mushrooms

Morel mushrooms are a wild mushroom variety that to my knowledge can’t be farmed or cultivated.  Which is truly a shame, because they are one of the best mushrooms out there.  When I see them in the store, I forget whatever I had planned for dinner, because it’s going to be morel mushroom night come hell or high water.  You can prepare them in a ton of different preparations, but one of my favorites, that really highlights their flavor and texture, is to simply sauté them with some pasta.  In this recipe video, I use pappardelle, and make a mushroom sauce with the morels.  It is rich, and delicious, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Recipe Overview and Keys to Success

1. Of course, don’t over cook the pasta.  Make sure you taste it before you think it’s done and take it out when al dente.  You should also make sure to toss the pasta and mushrooms together in the pan to get a bit of sauce absorbed into the pasta
2. Make sure to get good a sauté/caramelization on the mushrooms.  I like to cook mine for a good 30 minutes or so over med-high heat.  The edges should be nice and crispy, but the inside tender
3. Use a good amount of butter.  Maybe not the healthiest thing to do, and you could use olive oil, but morels and butter go really well together.

RECIPE FOR PAPPARDELLE WITH MOREL MUSHOOMS

Ingredients (for about 2 people)

• 1 Cup of morels chopped in half
• 4 tbls of butter
• 1 shallot diced
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1 teaspoons of thyme
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• 1/4 - 1/3 lbs of pappardelle pasta
• 3 – 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese

Making the Pappardelle with Morel Mushrooms

• Melt 2 tbls of butter in a hot sauté pan & when hot add the morel mushrooms
• Season with salt and pepper, and sauté until the water has evaporated, and the edges of the mushrooms have become crispy; 15 – 25 minutes
• If using dry pasta that takes 10 – 12 minutes or so to cook, drop the pasta; if using fresh pasta, wait until the sauce is almost done
• Add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes
• Add the chicken stock and reduce by half
• If the pasta is not done, put the  sauce on a very low simmer until the pasta is al dente
• Drain the pasta, and add to the sauce, and toss together over high heat for a few minutes
• Turn the heat all the way down, and add the rest of the butter and half the cheese
• Toss to combine everything together, taste and re-season with salt and pepper
• Plate the pasta with morels and garish with the remaining cheese

With the broad pasta noodles and rich sauce with mushrooms, a little bit of this dish goes a long way. Certainly you can use any mushrooms you can find, but if you’ve got the morels, I highly recommend them.