Today, 13 Germinal, we celebrate the morel mushroom. It seems as though morel season in the Midwest is about a month later than it was for the French revolutionaries. As such, I snagged some dried morels from Whole Foods, but am strongly planning on attending Ottawa’s Midwest Morel Fest on May 6th.

The dish I made today is a slight interpretation of the asparagus and bucatini dish from a few days ago. I’ve added the morels, obvs., but also some cream and a quick homemade italian sausage. I think the morels, cream and asparagus mixture would be great on a hearty toast as well.

Update

Came across some morels for sale in the grocery store today (22 Germinal):

Morels and Asparagus 

1/2 lb of bucatini

1 shallot, diced

1 lb asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 cups morels, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

butter

Italian sausage

I used dried morels, so I soaked them in hot water for a half hour. For fresh, this thread was helpful in deciding how to clean the mushrooms. Bring two pans filled with water to a boil. One will be for blanching the asparagus, the other for boiling the pasta. Cook the asparagus for 3-4 minutes and then remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the bucatini (or any other pasta) until al dente. In a large pan, melt a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the diced shallot and cook for a minute or two. Add the cut morels and cook for a few minutes more. Add the heavy cream, cooked asparagus and the cooked sausage and cook on low for 5 minutes. Add the pasta when finished and top with the grated Parmesan. Enjoy!