MORELS WITH MADEIRA CREAM ON TOAST I wouldn’t be much of an Englishwoman if I didn’t fancy mushrooms on
serves 4 as a side
toast. This is a luxurious version, made with meaty, woodsy morels lavished with cream. Madeira lends its nutty complexity to the dish and cuts the richness with its acidity. Morels can be spendy, so feel free to bulk up 100g with cremini or oyster mushrooms. If you’re itching for morels but it’s not quite spring, you can get away with using the high-quality dried version. To get the right amount for this recipe, soak 50g of dried morels in 450ml of warm water for half an hour, then squeeze them gently to rid them of excess water.
Melt the butter in a medium pot over high heat until it froths. Add the shallots and salt, stir, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, just until the shallots have a kiss of brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the morels and cook, stirring now and then, until the mushrooms are just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, cream, 75ml of the Madeira, and the tarragon. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the liquid has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour in the remaining 75ml of the Madeira and continue to boil until the liquid thickens just enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche and take the pot off the heat. Toast the bread just until the surface is crispy, then rub the cut sides of the garlic on the surface of each slice. Divide the toast among 4 plates, spoon on the mushrooms, and sprinkle on the remaining tarragon.
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3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 55g) 1 teaspoon Maldon or another flaky sea salt Scant 225g fresh morel mushrooms, halved lengthwise if large and cleaned (see ‘Cleaning Wild Mushrooms’, page 135) 150ml Simple Chicken Stock (page 245) 160ml double cream 150ml dry Madeira (preferably special reserve) A five-finger pinch of tarragon leaves, roughly chopped, plus more for finishing 1 tablespoon crème fraîche 4 thick slices crusty country bread 1 medium garlic clove, halved