Morel And Asparagus Spaghetti Food

TAGLIERINI WITH MORELS, ASPARAGUS, AND NASTURTIUMS

Steps:

• Prepare fresh pasta if using.
• Soak dried morels in 1 cup warm water 20 minutes. Agitate morels to dislodge grit, then remove from water, squeezing liquid from mushrooms back into bowl. Reserve liquid. When grit has settled, carefully pour mushroom liquid into a small bowl, leaving sediment behind (if necessary, strain liquid through a dampened coffee filter or cheesecloth). Remove any tough stems from morels.
• Trim and discard tough ends from asparagus. Cut off top 2 inches of tips and halve tips lengthwise. Cut remaining asparagus into long diagonal slices about 1/4 inch thick.
• Simmer wine, lemon juice, and shallots in a large heavy skillet until liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Add cream and simmer 1 minute. Add morels, mushroom soaking liquid, and broth, then simmer 5 minutes. Add butter all at once and cook sauce over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, just until creamy and butter is incorporated. (Do not let sauce get so hot that butter separates and sauce loses creamy consistency.) Remove skillet from heat and season sauce with salt and pepper. Keep warm, covered.
• If using fresh taglierini, shake off excess flour. Cook fresh taglierini with asparagus in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water until pasta is al dente, about 1 minute. (For dried pasta, follow package instructions and add asparagus during last minute of cooking.) Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain pasta and asparagus in a colander.
• Toss pasta and asparagus in a large bowl with ‚ cup sauce (without morels), one third of nasturtiums, and enough reserved pasta water to keep moist. Stir remaining nasturtiums into sauce.
• To serve, wind each portion of taglierini around a carving fork and transfer to center of a soup plate. Surround with asparagus, morels, and sauce.

ASPARAGUS WITH MORELS AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• Put morels, porcinis or both in a bowl with very hot water to cover; soak until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain morels and reserve soaking liquid. Cut morels in half; if porcinis are large, chop them roughly.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; when butter is hot and foam has subsided, add shallots and reconstituted and fresh mushrooms to pan. Cook until shallots soften and fresh mushrooms have released their liquid and it has cooked off, about 10 minutes.
• Add asparagus and 1/2 cup reserved liquid to pan. Bring liquid to a boil, cover, reduce heat so mixture simmers, and continue cooking for another 2 to 4 minutes, or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Add cream and tarragon or chervil and continue cooking, uncovered, until sauce thickens slightly and asparagus is tender, about 4 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

FETTUCCINE WITH MOREL AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl. Add fettuccine to same pot and cook until tender but still firm to bite. Drain fettuccine. Return pasta and asparagus to same pot.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over low heat. Add garlic and tarragon and stir 1 minute. Add morels and sauté 4 minutes. Add cream and broth; boil until morels are tender and sauce thickens slightly, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Add sauce to pasta and asparagus; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Pass remaining Parmesan separately.

RISOTTO WITH ASPARAGUS AND MORELS

Steps:

• Scoop the dried morels up from their soaking liquid and squeeze them, letting them drain back into the bowl. Follow by straining the soaking liquid through several layers of cheesecloth and then rinse the morels under running water before slicing them.
• Prepare the fresh morels. Rinse the morels quickly under cold running water and dry them with paper towels. Slice the tops and stems. In a small skillet, soften the shallots in one tablespoon of the butter over moderate heat. Add all the mushrooms and the strained soaking liquid, cover and cook gently for five minutes. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a slow simmer.
• Heat one tablespoon butter and the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and add the rice. Cook, stirring, until the grains are coated with the butter. Add a cup of the hot stock and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add the mushrooms and season them with salt and pepper to taste, and add the white wine.
• When the liquid has evaporated, add the asparagus, reserving the tips in another one-half cup of the stock. Continue adding the stock, one-half cup at a time as the rice absorbs the liquid, stirring continuously. Add the asparagus tips after the rice has cooked for about 12 minutes, and continue adding the broth, one-half cup at a time, stirring frequently. Continue adding liquid and stirring until the rice is creamy and tender, but just slightly al dente. Correct seasoning, stir in the Parmesan cheese and the remaining butter and sprinkle with parsley.

PASTA WITH MORELS, PEAS AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Bring to a boil 2 pots of water, one small and one large, and salt both. Cook the peas for 1 minute in the small pot; drain and cool quickly by submerging in ice water.
• Meanwhile, melt half the butter in a skillet. Cut the morels into 4 pieces each, the long way, and brown them lightly in the butter, seasoning them with salt and pepper.
• Cook the pasta until it is nearly done. Just before draining, toss the peas and remaining butter with the morels and turn the heat to medium. Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the morels and peas, adding a little water if necessary to make the mixture saucy. Toss with the Parmesan and lots of black pepper and serve immediately.

FETTUCCINE WITH ASPARAGUS, MORELS, AND TARRAGON

Steps:

• If using dried morels, place in 2-cup measuring cup and pour enough hot water over to reach 2-cup mark. Let soak until soft, pushing down occasionally if morels rise to top, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid; add enough water to measure 1 1/4 cups if needed. Cut large morels in half.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and fresh or reconstituted morels; sauté until shallots are tender, about 6 minutes. Add asparagus and 1 1/4 cups broth (if using fresh morels) or reserved soaking liquid (if using dried morels). Bring to boil, cover, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in cream and 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon. Simmer uncovered until sauce thickens slightly, about 4 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and sauce; toss. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon tarragon. Serve with remaining Parmesan cheese.

FETTUCCINE WITH MORELS, ASPARAGUS, AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• In a heavy skillet cook the shallot in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until it is softened, add the wine, and simmer the mixture until the wine is reduced by half. Add the broth and the morels, sliced crosswise, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes, or until the morels are tender. Add the cream and the goat cheese and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until the cheese is melted. Stir in the asparagus, the chives, and salt and pepper to taste and keep the sauce warm. In a kettle of boiling salted water cook the fettuccine until it is al dente, drain it well, and in a bowl toss the pasta with the sauce.

PASTA PRIMAVERA

Steps:

• Prepare vegetables:
• Soak morels in warm water in a small bowl 30 minutes. Lift mushrooms out of water, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into a small bowl and reserve. Rinse morels thoroughly to remove grit, then squeeze dry. Discard any tough stems. Halve small morels lengthwise and quarter larger ones.
• Cook asparagus and beans in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, 3 minutes. Add peas and cook until beans and asparagus are just tender, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Immediately transfer vegetables with a large slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, reserving hot water in pot for cooking pasta. Drain cooled vegetables in a colander.
• Cook 1 teaspoon garlic and a rounded 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoons oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, just until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add drained vegetables and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Reserve skillet.
• Cook tomatoes:
• Cut half of tomatoes into quarters and halve remainder lengthwise, keeping quarters and halves separate. Cook remaining teaspoon garlic and remaining rounded 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, just until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add quartered tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, about 3 minutes. Add halved tomatoes, vinegar, and water and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and halved tomatoes are softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Keep tomatoes warm.
• Cook spaghettini and assemble dish:
• While tomatoes are cooking, return water in pot to a boil and cook spaghettini until al dente.
• Drain in a colander. Immediately add butter, cream, zest, and morels to empty pasta pot and simmer gently, uncovered, 2 minutes. Stir in cheese and add pasta, tossing to coat and adding as much of reserved morel soaking liquid as necessary (1/2 to 2/3 cup) to keep pasta well coated. Add green vegetables, parsley, basil, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste and toss gently to combine.
• Serve pasta topped with tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings.