mushroom mania

i love trying new things.  especially local, seasonal things.  for example – in this dish, i tried morel mushrooms for the first time — grown right here in colorado soil, not an hour up the highway.  this ensures their freshness as well as an amazing taste!

i’m not sure exactly WHY morel mushrooms are so damn expensive – i mean, they’re yummy and all… but they must be rare or something.  $49.99 a pound?!?!?! — i spent 10 bucks on a handful for myself and roomie — sometimes you just have to splurge.

anyway, i decided to make a grilled portabella {portobello, portobella — whatever} and top it with some diced morels and shitakes.  mushrooms are crazy good for you and make a fantastic meat substitute.

i also served this with some steamed artichokes… didn’t go too nuts photographing that process though… i mostly wanted to feature the mushrooms. particularly the morels, since their season is short and they are such a delicacy.

ingredients :

– portobella caps

– handful shiitake mushrooms

– handful morel mushrooms

– 1 cup cous cous

– 1/2 cup carrots {chopped}

– artichokes {if you so desire}

i’m sure at this point you know how to make cous cous.  if not, type that in my search bar and find out 🙂  i added carrots into mine this time.

i always start by sauteing or steaming my add-in, then cook the cous cous right in it.  cover and keep it aside until we are ready to serve…

remove ribs from your portobellas.

chop the morels in half and dice up your shiitakes.

cook the morels on low-medium heat in a tablespoon of butter or oil.  i used clarified butter for the amazing flavour.

in another saute pan, add shiitake mushrooms and cook them on medium heat also in a little butter.  add in your portobellas and keep on low to medium heat, flipping them once or twice.

i just wanted to show off this beautiful vegetable.  it was part of my dish, but more like an appetizer so i didn’t really photograph it.  if you need a how-to on cooking artichokes, visit this blog with step-by-step instructions. purple artichokes are slightly more ‘earthy’ tasting and a tad more creamy than a regular artichoke… in my humble opinion.

once mushrooms are done cooking, remove from heat and serve immediately.

i need a steak knife to cut my portobellas, i love that! 🙂

my 2 cents?!  the price of morels isn’t quite worth the flavour.  i mean i loved them, don’t get me wrong – and it’s nice to have something different from time to time… but maybe once a year is good for me!

Tags: cous cous, morels, mushrooms, portabellas, portobellos, shiitake