10gramsdried morelsor a small handful (good place to use the crumbs from last years jar)
2Tablespoonsdiced shallots or one small shallot
2tablespoonsunsalted butter
2ouncesinside of white bread or crustless breadcubed
2Tablespoonshigh quality grated parmesan
¼teaspoonkosher salt
A good splash of brandy or sherry
Instructions
Sweat the shallots in one tablespoon of the butter, then add the morels, cook for a couple minutes until they smell nice, add the sherry and cook off the alcohol.
Add the morel soaking liquid, bring to a simmer and reduce for a few minutes until the pan is nearly dry, then add the cream, bring to a vigorous simmer and cook for a few minutes more to concentrate the sauce.
Puree the mixture with a stick blender, adding the cheese and bread cubes (transfer it to a small pitcher or container if needed).
Return the mixture to the pan and cook, stirring constantly to tighten it up. After a couple minutes the sauce should be very thick, and hold peaks like stiff whipped cream.
Taste the morel “sauce” for salt and adjust as needed. Take a quart plastic bag and place it in a container like a glass, folding the seal over the edge of the container (refer to my picture).
Fill the bag with the morel sauce, seal to prevent a skin from forming, and cool. You can also put the bechamel in a pastry bag using a small tip, which is the easiest way to stuff the morels.
Meanwhile, trim some of the stem off your morels that you’ve rinsed or meticulously cleaned, leaving as much stem as possible, and peering inside to make sure there are no inhabitants, then sweat them in a pan with a film of water until completely wilted on medium-high heat.
Cool the mushrooms, then pipe the filling inside of them. Chill the morels to set the filling, then dust in flour and saute quickly in plenty of fat until browned on both sides. Sprinkle the morels with salt and serve with toothpicks.
Notes
Serving tip
This is pretty much the ultimate morel appetizer. A tip for serving a bunch of them is that you can fill the mushrooms with the stuffing ahead of time and reheat them in a flash.