Old Timber Outdoors
A hand holding two fresh morel mushrooms in spring woods
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Morel mushrooms

Morel and Asparagus Pasta

Fresh morels cooked through in butter with spring asparagus, shallot and lemon, tossed with pasta and Parmesan.

Serves
4
Hands-on
30 min
Total
45 min
Skill
Some experience

Stove and oven · Dinner

Ingredients

  • 8 ozMorel mushrooms, fresh, halved lengthwise and rinsed
  • 4 tbspButter, divided
  • 1Shallot, minced
  • 2 clovesGarlic, minced
  • 1Lemon, zested and juiced
  • 1 tbspSalt, for the pasta water, plus more to taste
  • ½ tspBlack pepper, ground
  • 12 oz short pasta, such as penne
  • 1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

You'll need

Stovetop; cast iron skillet if you have one.

Contains

Dairy, Gluten.

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with the 1 tbsp salt.
  2. Pat the rinsed morels dry. Melt 3 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the morels in one layer, season with a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring now and then, until they release their liquid, it cooks off, and they begin to brown, at least 10 minutes. They should be cooked through, never raw in the center. If the butter starts to darken before the liquid is gone, turn the heat down.
  3. Boil the pasta, adding the asparagus for the last 3 minutes. Save 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain.
  4. Add the shallot and garlic to the morels and cook 2 minutes. Add the drained pasta and asparagus, the lemon zest and juice, and ½ cup of the pasta water.
  5. Take the pan off the heat. Toss with the Parmesan and the remaining 1 tbsp butter until glossy, adding more pasta water if dry. Season with salt and the pepper, and serve topped with the parsley.

When it's done: No safe time or temperature is established

Never eat morels raw. Cook them thoroughly. FDA: cooking can reduce risk, but there is no guarantee of safety.

If it goes wrong

Gritty
Rinse the halved morels and check inside each one before cooking.
Watery morels
Keep cooking until the liquid is gone and they begin to brown.
Sauce clumping
Add pasta water a little at a time and toss off the heat.
Bland
The pasta water was not salty enough. Season the morels in the pan and finish with a little more salt and lemon.

Leftovers. Serve hot. Keep fresh morels refrigerated until cooking. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat to 165°F.