I don't get excited about much these days. The other day I strolled down to the once a week, little outdoor market, and saw the mushroom vendor. I got quite excited finally. The market only comes to a local park in summer and early fall. Everything is local including the items from the mushroom vendor.
The first thing I noticed was lions mane, but beside them were morels. I have never eaten a morel mushroom ever in any form. The vendor told me it would be the last week for the fresh ones. I took around 400 grams I think. I just told her more, more, more. She was surprised.
Because I had never tried these, I wasn't sure what to do with them at first. I thought about my new pasta machine and making pasta. I had not yet tried the fettuccine cutter. From there I decided on fettuccine and mushrooms, which would substitute fettuccine and clams. I used to love that back in the day when I ate seafood.
I felt privileged to have this opportunity to try these. In recent years I have taken more and more interest in different mushrooms that you can't find in an average grocery around here. The look of these mushrooms is kind of creepy yet somehow beautiful at the same time. The texture is delicate and slightly gelatinous.
I decided to coat them slightly in flour, in order to help thicken the sauce. I wasn't sure what I was doing at this point.
I minced up a few cloves of garlic and a shallot to saute with the mushrooms.
After browning the shallots and mushrooms in vegan butter and olive oil, I added mushrooms. The pan was on medium high heat.
When the mushrooms were browned all over I added some white wine and vegetable broth. then I added vegan cooking cream. I used soy cream but there are different creams that could be used. I find that soy cream is the most neutral. You can just use plant milk and a little more flour instead. It depends on how thick you want your sauce.
At the last minute I decided to add some capers that I had in the fridge. I also added black pepper, a squeeze of fresh lemon and lemon zest.
The little market had fresh produce at another stand beside the mushroom vendor so I bought a few herbs and some zucchini. I decided to saute some to add to the pasta.
I did this in a separate pan with a little sliced onion, salt and pepper.
I bought some lovely garlic scapes that looked so fresh. I wasn't sure what I would do with them when I bought them, then decided to make a pesto with them. I also bought fresh oregano and thyme which were added to the mix.
The pesto was made with the same ingredients as I would likely use for a basil pesto. The only thing is that I added spinach and parsley which was in my fridge and had to be used.
Along with olive oil I added the juice of 2 fresh lemons.
It was first put in the food processor then blended to a cream in my blender.
This was going to be added to the fettuccine. I love garlic so this was a nice way to make the dish nice and garlicky. The leftovers will be used for toast or more pasta, or added to a salad dressing.
The pasta was a combination of semolina flour and all purpose. I used 2 parts semolina and 1 part all purpose. After adding around 3/4 cups lukewarm water, I kneaded it until it was smooth and not sticky but soft enough to roll out. I am not an expert pasta maker but I am happy with the results.
I'm still experimenting with my machine so right now it's not the easiest thing to do but I love the result so much that I have a difficult time buying packaged pasta now. It's much different and I have decided that it's much more enjoyable but I do still like store bought pasta. It's what I grew up on and had most of my life. Not to mention convenient.
I rolled it out by hand then rolled it in the machine on the wide setting before I put it in the fettuccine cutter. No photos of that. I had to hand crank with one hand and gently guide the fettuccine onto the cutting board.
After cutting the pasta I carefully coated the strands with semolina flour to prevent from sticking. I would like to have a pasta hanger so I can dry them but the kitchen store nearby hasn't received them yet. I like to give the local merchants my business when I can.
Because they hadn't dried much, I was very careful not to overcook them. I like my pasta al dente and fresh pasta doesn't take more then a few minutes.
The water was at a rolling boil before I put them in. I checked them after a minute then another minute. I knew they would keep cooking after I drained the water so I made sure they were out before they were thoroughly cooked. I can't say exactly how long it was but perhaps around 3 or 4 minutes. It's something you have to keep checking.
In the bowl I spread some of the pesto on the bottom, then placed the fettuccine which was gently tossed with the morels and sauce. I also added the zucchini while tossing the sauce and pasta together.
All of the ingredients are approximate.
Morels in cream sauce
1/2 to 3/4 pounds of fresh morels
3 cloves garlic minced
1 shallot minced
1 cup white wine
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup plant based cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Lemon zest
A sprinkle of capers (optional)
A dash of truffle oil (optional)
If didn't add the pesto, I would have added more herbs to the sauce. I really like fresh herbs during this season when I can get them. But I had the pesto which had the herbs in it so I didn't bother putting much into the sauce except for parsley.
Garlic scape spinach pesto
1 to 2 cups chopped garlic scapes
1 1/2 cup walnuts
3 cups fresh spinach
1 cup olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Leaves from a sprig of fresh oregano
Leaves from a sprig of fresh thyme
Handful of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
A dash of agave nectar(optional)
I like to add a little sweetness when I use a lot of lemon. But not so much that it taste sweet. That's just my preference.
Pasta
2 cups semolina
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
I was very pleased with the morels. It reminded me of oysters without the fishiness. I used to love seafood so this was a nice treat for me. The flavor of the morels for me can be described as earthy, slightly nutty and almost sweet with a concentrated mushroomy taste. But that's the answer I would give, if I had a gun to my head. I really don't know. I just loved the texture and taste.
Yesterday we received a book that Marc had ordered. It was titled "How to forage mushrooms without dying" I love it but this is in case we are forced into a situation where we have to fight for survival. In the meantime, I await the mushroom vendor's next arrival.
design by: @KidSisters
so interesting. i have foraged for mushrooms many many times but have never seen any kind of morel. they are said to grow here in areas where there has been a recent fire but they are far from common. on the other hand we are most fortunate to have wild champignons growing right here on our lawn, sadly it has been too dry this year so we have only harvested a single champignon. but yesterday we got a very heavy rain so there is plenty of time left in the season. when we are fortunate enough to get some they are a real treat.
anyway your fettuccine recipe sounds wonderful. i just wanted to say that i learned long ago that if i ever did find any morels growing here in norway i had to parboil them first to get rid of some poisonous substance they contain.
Wow the vendor didn't mention poison haha. I washed them and cooked them in a hot pan so I guess that's why I'm still alive. I don't think I will have more anytime soon though.
You're lucky to have mushrooms on your lawn. Actually you're lucky to have a lawn. I don't even have a balcony haha.
maybe the morels in your area are a different species. anyway i don't think they are deadly like some amanitas. our lawn is not big but there is an old apple tree and that is where the champignons grow. but they don't appear every year
Hi @carolynstahl! This recipe, like all the ones you share in our vegan community, are excellent. I always really like the introduction you make, because it's great, you contextualize the recipe.
I have not tried these mushrooms, and although they look interesting, they are surely delicious.
I really liked the pesto you made, with a lot of flavor and texture; And the fettucini were great.
Thank you for bringing your good recipes to our community. Greetings.
Thank you for your support and comment. I hope you get to try these at least once. I may not have them again but there are so many more kinds to have.
Have a great day!!!
Wow!!! What a delicious-looking bowl of pasta!! That creamy sauce sounds so good! It's a masterpiece of pasta! I love all your ingredients and the sense of fresh produce. I have never tried morels mushroom before, but definitely 100% that tastes amazing! 😀
I may never find fresh ones again so I'm happy I could try them.
Thank you so much!!!!
Thank you for your support!
Omg. Now I feel like mushroom pasta. I tried morels dried before and loved their added flavor. I hope one day we can find them fresh here too.
I like to add nutritional yeast to my pesto to sub for the parmesan in traditional pesto.
Have a beautiful day 😘
I will be able to get the dry ones according to the vendor so I may see what they're like. I really got lucky haha.
I usually add nooch to the basil pesto but I wasn't sure what I would do with the garlicky one. I ended up putting in an Asian-esque stir fry haha.
Thank you so much and you also have a beautiful day!!!!
You're too kind. I think you have to really love mushrooms to appreciate this mushroom. I know people that wouldn't venture beyond a white button and if they were feeling wild they may have a portobello haha.
I appreciate that you think we should open a restaurant but we don't have the money to open a hot dog stand so in the meantime we'll just work in a restaurant. Besides we love our days off and restaurant owners are never really off.
Have a great day!!!😊
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Thank you very much!!!!
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Thank you very much!!!
All your ingredients and cooking look perfect and it’s really 🤤. I have never seen those mushrooms, what does it taste like?
They have a very earthy taste and the texture is kind of rubbery but they're delicious. Thank you my freind😊
I am very hungry!
When I first opened your article, I really thought this was a kind of shellfish even though they were mushrooms, very unique. I'm sure this is the tastiest pasta with a combination of morels mushroom and cream sauce
Yes they look like a creature haha. they kind of reminded me of oysters when I ate them but not fishy. They are not easy to find but a mushroom vendor comes to the park once a week with different mushrooms so I was lucky. It was very tasty pasta.
Thank you so much!
That's something amazing, I've never found this mushroom, I think in my country there is no morel type of mushroom
Its Northern I believe😗
Hi, I think you are a great creator of food. surprize how you get different ideas? love your recipe.
huge ❤️
This is honestly not the most complicated thing. I have a creamy pasta which is petty basic. I got lucky with some wild mushrooms. I have a pesto which I used garlic greens instead of basil. This is all pretty simple and not that creative really. I was tasty I have to admit.
I appreciate your support anyway my friend. A million thanks!
Yum! Apparently it's morel season here but it's a big country and I have no idea where to look for them... But seeing this gives me even more reason to do it. I made a similiar sauce with shitake mushrooms the other day - lovely. I'm really into different muishrooms at the moment - there's just so much potential. Good score.