Our 2014 is shaping up to be incredibly busy and unfortunately we have decided to not make quite so many journeys into the woods this year to forage for the beautiful morel mushroom. However when Earth Day was 70 degrees and sunny, well we couldn’t resist making one trip back to our secret morel spot.  We were fortunate enough to get a couple of pounds, more than enough for the two of us to enjoy.  We have been working on perfecting the whole eggs benedict thing for a while so I thought this was an easy way to feature the morel without overwhelming it with too many other flavors. Okay, so maybe this wasn’t just the typical wake up and whip this together quickly and eat bunch kind of ordeal, but with such a special ingredient it was worth taking the time to create such a lovely, though super rich, brunch. I started the morel cream reduction for the Hollandaise first thing while coffee was brewing and I got into my Sunday morning cooking groove with the assistance of Endless Boundaries April Holiday Podcast.

Triple Morel Eggs Benedict
Serves 2

Morel Hollandaise Sauce (recipe follows)
Roasted Morels (recipe follows)
Fried Morels (basic outline follows)
4 Poached Eggs
Wolferman’s English Muffin, Fork Split and Toasted
Chopped Parsley

To Serve:
Place two halves of muffin cut side up on each plate. Evenly distribute the roasted morels atop the muffin and top with poached eggs. Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve with fried morels.

Morel Cream Reduction:

2 Cups Homemade Turkey/Chicken/Tasty Stock
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Cream
1 Cup Chopped Morel Bits
¼ Cup Finely Minced Shallot
1 Tablespoon Clarified Butter

In a medium saucepan heat stock and reduce by half. Add milk and cream, reduce by half again. In a separate skillet heat butter and sautee until soft, but not browned. Add cream reduction and remove from heat.

Morel Hollandaise Sauce:

2 Egg Yolks
¼ Cup Lemon Juice
Splash of Cholula or any hot sauce of your choice
1 Stick Butter, melted and cooled a bit
Pinch Truffle Salt to taste
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste
¾ Cup Morel Cream Reduction

In blender combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and hot sauce until just mixed. With blender running slowly drizzle in the melted butter. Add morel reduction, salt and pepper and blend until smooth and not too thick nor too terribly thin.

Roasted Morels:

1 Teaspoon Truffle Oil
1 Tablespoon Clarified Butter
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Thyme
24 Medium Morels (2”ish)
Pinch or Two Truffle Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

Mix melted butter, oil, thyme, and shallots in a large bowl. Toss the morels to cover in the oil mixture. Scrap onto a Silpat lined half sheet and roast in a preheated 300 degree oven for 15 minutes. Increase heat to 400 degrees and roast for 5-7 minutes longer or until golden, but not a soft mushy mess.

Fried Morels:

Clarified Butter
Seasoned Flour (flour, cayenne, salt, pepper, paprika, etc)
Fresh morels- soaked, rinsed, patted dry

Bread morels in the seasoned flour. Pan fry morels in 1/2″ of clarified butter in a cast iron skillet until super golden brown. Drain on paper towel lined plate.