Morel Mushroom Sauce

Ever wish you had a good recipe for a morel mushroom sauce? This one is adapted from a recipe in the L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and can be used in many ways. It's great over pasta and it's wonderful with chicken or veal. It can also be used to "dress up" egg noodles or rice. Add some crusty bread and a tossed salad and you've got a gourmet-class experience.

&frac34 pound fresh sliced morels, cleaned and trimmed
3 shallots
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
&frac12 cup chicken stock
&frac12 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh snipped tarragon
2 tablespoons Marsala salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly and stir in the flour. Blend the flour well, breaking up any lumps that develop. Remove the skillet from the heat and gradually stir in the stock and the cream, blending well with the flour. Add the tarragon, wine and salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce bubble gently for a few minutes until it reaches the desired consistency.

If it's too thick, add a bit more broth. If it's too thin, cook down a little more. If you'd like to use this recipe for red meats, substitute 1 cup of beef stock for the chicken stock. Season with snipped fresh thyme and rosemary in place of the tarragon - about a tablespoon each. Add a dash of Worcestershire.

If any readers have recipes they'd like to share with us, we'd enjoy hearing from you. "Rich" writes us that he's enjoyed making a "ragout" with morels, fiddlehead ferns, fava beans, and red onions. He parboils the favas, cools them, then sautés everything with butter and a dash of good quality olive oil. He's also enjoyed pasta with a straight cream sauce and rehydrated morels. When it's ready to serve, he drizzles it with white truffle oil. Thanks Rich!

Thanks to Earthy Delights
for this recipe