Stuffed Morel Mushrooms Recipes

CRAB-STUFFED MOREL MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Gently clean whole morel mushrooms of dirt and grit; place mushrooms, stem sides down, in a colander and drain for about 5 minutes.
• Trim bottoms of the hollow stems, so the hole is big enough for filling.
• Mix cream cheese, crabmeat, and green onion in a bowl until evenly combined.
• Spoon mixture into a heavy resealable plastic bag. Force the cream cheese mixture into a corner of the bag. Cut a small snip off the corner of the bag.
• Insert cut tip of the plastic bag into the hollow stem of each mushroom and fill the mushrooms with the cream cheese mixture.
• Place dry breading mix in a shallow bowl. Roll the stuffed mushrooms in the dry mix; tap off excess breading.
• Heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Deep-fry the stuffed mushrooms until the breading is golden brown and the mushrooms are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Allow to drain on paper towels.

STUFFED MOREL MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Place mushrooms in a large bowl of salted water. Soak until clean and soft, 8 hours to overnight.
• Drain mushrooms, rinse well, and set out to dry on a clean towel.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Chop mushroom stems finely. Cut mushroom caps in half lengthwise; place cut-side up in a 9x13-inch baking pan.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped mushroom stems, red bell pepper, and green onion; cook and stir until green onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; allow to cool, about 10 minutes.
• Mix cream cheese, crabmeat, egg, celery leaves, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and sea salt together in a large bowl. Fold in cooled onion mixture. Place a dollop of filling in each mushroom cap with a small spoon.
• Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of filled mushroom caps.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

CRAB STUFFED MOREL MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• If you're using fresh morels, skip to cutting the morels with a scissors.
• Soak the dried morels (fresh morels never need soaking, no matter what Grandpaddy said) in room temperature water to cover.
• You want to use clean mushrooms here. If, for any reason you suspect your morels are especially sandy, rehydrate them in a larger volume of water so that you can swish them vigorously to remove grit.
• When the dried morels are hydrated, squeeze them dry, save the liquid for making a pan sauce or adding to a soup, some other purpose, or discard.
• Trim the ends of the mushrooms to clean them up a bit and make for a pretty presentation (optional).
• Using a scissors, cut open one side of each morel. Large morels that will be easy to stuff can be left whole, but I prefer to cut them to make stuffing easier. Reserve the cut morels.
• For the crab filling, combine all the filling ingredients gently, trying to keep some of the crab pieces intact, then taste a spoonful. Adjust the seasoning as needed for salt, lemon zest, herbs, and whatever else you like until it tastes good to you. Lemon zest is important here as this is a heavy dish--the citrus acts as the high note of a song, lifting it up and lightening it.
• Preheat the oven to 450
• Take a tablespoon or so of the filling and stuff each morel, then fold them closed. Put the morels, cut side down in a baking dish that will fit them snugly, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and parmesan, drizzle over the butter and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and puffed, then serve. They're great by themselves, alongside a steak or as a lunch with a green salad.

MOREL MUSHROOM SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook mushrooms in butter in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add a portion of the garlic at the end of each batch and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove mushroom mixture to a plate.
• Add onion to the pot. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushroom mixture, thyme, and parsley. Pour wine into the pot and cook while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle flour over the mixture and stir until well incorporated. Add broth, bouillon, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in cream and enough milk to reach desired thickness. Cook until heated through.