Morel Gratin with Oloroso Sherry
This recipe was road-tested by Vernetta McGuire on a scouting foray to Loon Lake. Fingers and plates were licked, it was that good!
by Vernetta McGuire
%20(from%20inaturalist_org%2C%20obs_%20219151532).jpg)
Morchella Snyderi. © Dean Lyons (CC-BY-NC) (from inaturalist.org, obs. 219151532)
Method
Trim morels, clean and cut in half from top to bottom. (Reconstitute first if using dried morels).
Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sauté shallots and stir often until limp (about 5 minutes). About a minute before they look ready, add the minced garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until juices released by mushrooms have evaporated and mushroom begin to lightly brown (5 to 10 minutes if morels are fresh).
Add sherry and increase heat to medium-high. Boil until sherry is reduced by half (about 3 minutes).
Add cream and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickly coats mushrooms and is reduced by two-thirds (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
Stir half of the Manchego into the hot cream and mushroom mixture, so that it melts into the sauce.
Spoon mushroom mixture into a shallow 3- to 4-cup ceramic baking dish, the scatter the remaining half of the Manchego over the top.
Broil 4" to 6" from heat until cheese is melted and bubbling (about 2 minutes).
Serve with toasted slices of bread.
Recipe contributed:
September
2004
This dish could be made with dried morels instead of fresh, or whatever mushrooms you have on hand. Only four morels were found during the Loon Lake trip, but boletes and Calvatia sculpta (a.k.a., sculpted puffball or Sierra puffball) rounded it out nicely.
Oloroso is a dry wine made from Palomino grapes, aged without yeast, giving it a dark color, nutty flavor, and higher alcohol content. If you don't have Oloroso available, you could try a dry Amontillado sherry or a Madeira (or a 4:1 mixture of beef broth and red wine vinegar for a non-alcoholic substitute).
Vernetta is a past FFSC Minister of Culinary Affairs. She was inspired to create this recipe after trying a similar recipe in Sunset Magazine.
Objective:
Appetizer
Total Time:
45 minutes
Yield:
4 servings
Suggested Mushrooms:
- Morel (Morchella sp.)
Login as an FFSC member to access the rest of this content.
Ingredients
8 oz. fresh morels (or substitute 2 oz. dried morels)
3 Tbsp. butter
⅓ cup minced shallots
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
½ cup Oloroso sherry
1 cup heavy whipping cream*
1 cup finely shredded Manchego cheese**
8 oz. crusty artisan-style bread, sliced and toasted to serve with the gratin
A shallow 3- to 4-cup ceramic baking dish
* Half-and-half is also an option, though it may curdle and separate when combined with Oloroso and heated, instead of emulsifying smoothly.
** If you can't find Manchego cheese, you can use Asagio, Zamorano,another sharp-flavored, aged white cheese such as Aged White Cheddar or Dry Jack.