Caroline’s Morel Pasta

Adapted from Serious Eats. Serves 2.

Ingredients:

1 pint morel mushrooms
2 tbl butter
1 small or ½ medium shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbl cream or half-and-half
3 oz spaghetti or other pasta
Salt and pepper, to taste
Finely grated parmesan, for garnish
Chopped dill, parsley, or chives, for garnish

Directions:

Clean Morels
Place morels in a paper bag and shake firmly, but not too vigorously, to remove any large clumps of dirt. Remove morels from bag and brush the cap and stem with a pastry brush to remove dirt from all the nooks and crannies. Halve small mushrooms and quarter any large ones. Fill a medium bowl with cold water and quickly plunge the mushrooms in the bowl, swishing around to remove any last bits of dirt. Place mushrooms in a colander, shake, and blot with paper towels to remove excess water. Set aside.

Cook Morels
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once it’s good and hot, place morels in pan and immediately start stirring frequently. The mushrooms will first eject their moisture, and the pan will fill with simmering water. Once the water evaporates, the mushrooms will start sticking to the pan and browning. Stir constantly as morels brown. After they have gained a few brown spots and are drying out a bit, about 2 minutes, add butter. Stir and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, then reduce heat to medium and add garlic, shallot, and soy sauce. Continue to cook, stirring, until shallots and garlic are tender, about 5 minutes. Add a tiny splash of water if the mixture is starting to stick or burn. Stir in cream and season with salt and pepper. They should be a little saltier than you’d like to eat straight, since they’ll be tossed with pasta. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook Pasta
Bring a very well-salted pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, reserving about a cup of pasta water before draining. After draining pasta, place in skillet with morels and toss together. Gradually splash in some of the starchy, salty pasta water to loosen the noodles as you toss. Garnish with plenty of Parmesan, black pepper, and chopped herbs and serve immediately.

Bon appetit!