Morel Stroganoff

Perfect comfort food dish for chilly days.

Morels are wild mushrooms that have a meaty texture and flavour, they are a highly sought after spring mushroom, but can be difficult to find. Learn more about them by clicking here.

Morel Stroganoff

By Caitlin Beer

Serves 5-6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large onion

• 3-4 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

• 2-3 Tablespoons sunflower or corn oil

• 2 Tablespoons butter

• 14 grams dried morels (about 1 cup dried) can sub pidpenky mushrooms or 1/3 lb fresh morels

• 1-2 cups cooked sliced beef or ground beef

• 2-3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 3 Tablespoons flour

• 1/2 cup hot water

• 2 cups beef broth

• 1/2 cup dry white wine (may sub lemon juice or apple juice)

• 1 cup sour cream Click here to view or buy dried morels

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 T dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 3-4 T finely chopped fresh parsley

• 4-5 cups dry pasta, egg noodle or rotini (plus water + salt to cook in, follow pasta box instructions)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place dried morels in small bowl, add 1/2 c hot water, weigh them down with another bowl if necessary to keep them submerged, set aside for 10-15 minutes.

2. Heat your 2 T oil and 2 T butter on medium low heat in large pan and add large chopped onion and 3-4 minced garlic, stir every minute or two for 5-10 minutes.

3. Fill medium pot halfway with water and add some salt if desired, turn on high to boil for pasta noodles.

4. Remove your morels from the hot water (do not discard, set liquid aside) and chop your rehydrated morels if desired into smaller pieces, then add to onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the hot water you soaked your morels in.

5. Add your noodles to boiling water if you haven't already done so, cook according to the box/bag, usually 8-10 minutes. Strain and rinse if desired, some like to add a bit of oil to the noodles if your sauce isn't done to keep them from sticking.

6. Whisk in your 3 T flour, 2 c broth, 2-3 T Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 c white wine, 1 c sour cream, 1/2 t salt and pepper, 1 t thyme and 1-2 c sliced beef. Cook for 5-10 minutes more.

7. Add fresh chopped parsley, combine with noodles, garnish with parsley if desired and enjoy.

Dora's Morel Dill cream sauce

morel cream sauce on perogies

By Dora Slaminchski

Dora Slaminchski is a lovable Ukrainian celebrity who shares her cheerful and informative videos on Facebook. This is one of her recipes she shared with her permission. Click here to view her page.

Get morels here

Rich and flavourful sauce, delicious on pierogis, pasta, potatoes, rice, toast or whatever!

• 1 cup hot water

• 14 grams Wildland Foods dried morels or pidpenky, or half of each or 1-2 cups fresh mushrooms.

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 3-4 cloves garlic

• 1 onion diced (about 1 cup)

• 1 handful fresh dill or 1-2 teaspoons dried dill (above photo had 1 T)

• 2-3 Tablespoons browned flour (browning optional, 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees should do it)

• 1/4 cup butter

• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper

purchase dried morels

DIRECTIONS

1. Rehydrate morels by covering mushrooms with 1 cup of hot water, let sit in water 15 minutes, set aside water from soaking to add later.

2. Brown flour in oven (optional) at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

3. Heat saucepan on medium low and melt butter in large saucepan

4. Dice and add onions to butter

5. Saute for 10 minutes until lightly browned, stirring frequently

6. Crush or grate garlic and add to onions, saute 2-3 minutes (Dora uses her own pottery garlic grater plate and salts it after and lets it sit for several minutes.)

7. Add whole or chopped morels, saute 6-10 minutes

8. Turn burner to low and sprinkle flour in and stir well

9. While stirring, incorporate flavourful water from rehydrating morels, as well as the cream, salt & pepper

10. Simmer on low until desired thickness, sauce will thicken on cooling. Add dill.

11. Enjoy this sauce on perogies, beetniks, potatoes, pasta and more!

Optional: sub 1 cup of cream for a can of cream of mushroom soup

Click on image below to order dried morels

wildland foods dried morels

3 Sister's Chili Stew with wild mushrooms

This delicious, comforting and hearty stew is a hybrid stew chili of sorts. Chunks of beef or venison, earthy black beans, wild mushrooms and sage, with spicy chili spices, balanced by the sweet addition of corn and acorn squash.

The name 3 sister's comes from a story. According to Iroquois legend, corn, beans, and squash are three inseparable sisters who only grow and thrive together. This tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash in the same mounds, widespread among Native American farming societies, is a sophisticated, sustainable system that provided long-term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations. Growing a Three Sisters garden is a wonderful way to feel more connected to the history of this land, regardless of our ancestry. Corn, beans and squash were among the first important crops domesticated by ancient Mesoamerican societies. Corn was the primary crop, providing more calories or energy per acre than any other. According to Three Sisters legends corn must grow in community with other crops rather than on its own – it needs the beneficial company and aide of its companions. The Iroquois believe corn, beans and squash are precious gifts from the Great Spirit, each watched over by one of three sisters spirits, called the De-o-ha-ko, or Our Sustainers. The planting season is marked by ceremonies to honor them, and a festival commemorates the first harvest of green corn on the cob. By retelling the stories and performing annual rituals, Native Americans passed down the knowledge of growing, using and preserving the Three Sisters through generations.

3 Sister's Chili Stew

Serves 6-7

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Acorn or 1/2 butternut squash, cubed approximately 4-5 cups

• 1 cup corn (fresh, canned, frozen)

• 5 cups black beans, cooked (see below for directions cooking from dried or use canned)

• 14 grams honey mushrooms (Pidpenky) or morels, or approx 1/3 of a lb fresh mushrooms

• 1 large onion

• 2-4 cloves garlic

• 3-4 T sunflower or corn oil

• 1 lb stew beef or ground beef

• 6 cups water or beef/mushroom or bean stock

• 1/2-1 teaspoon chipotle powder (depending on spiciness level you prefer)

• 1 T paprika

• 2 T chili seasoning

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 T sage powder

• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed.

METHOD

1. Start by placing mushrooms in 1 cup of hot water to rehydrate. You can use the large pot to boil the water and rehydrate the mushrooms, or put them in a bowl and stack another on top to keep them submerged. Save the water from soaking the mushrooms to add as part of the stock later.

2. Dice onions and start to sauté on medium heat in 3 tablespoons sunflower or corn oil

3. Add garlic and rehydrated mushrooms, sauté 5-10 minutes.

4. Add diced beef stew meat or ground beef.

5. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large pot.

6. Simmer for 15-20 minutes

7. Garnish with sour cream and whatever greens you have on hand, cilantro, celery, parsley

Options: add traditional chili vegetables like red and green bell peppers, diced tomatoes etc.

Serve with buttered cornbread for an extra treat or with honey for a simple dessert.

CORNBREAD RECIPE

This is my all time favourite cornbread recipe. You can even pan fry the batter like pancakes and it's quite good. I premix this for our camping trips and do just that with it.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

• 1 ½ cups cornmeal

• 2 ½ cups milk (or water)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ⅔ cup white sugar

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup vegetable oil

1. Mix dry ingredients together first

2. Mix wet ingredients separately

3. Combine and pour into greased 9x13 baking dish

4. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until fork comes out clean when you insert a fork in the center.

How to cook beans from dried

2 main options:

1. The 'fast way'

Cover beans with 3-4" of water, bring to rolling boil. Cover with lid and turn off heat. Let sit 1 hour. Then bring back to a boil and cook for 1 hour.

2. The 'long way'

Soak overnight to rehydrate, cover beans with 3-4" of water. Once plump and rehydrated (this takes several hours), then boil on medium to medium high so they are at a rolling boil but not boiling over for 1 hour.

Some people also instant pot beans, but I haven't tried that except to can baked beans.

https://www.reneesgarden.com/blogs/gardening-resources/celebrate-the-three-sisters-corn-beans-and-squash

Click image below to view product