Recipe below: Braised Chicken with Morels and Marsala; also, in the text, how to make Japanese Turnips with Butter and Thyme
I haven’t yet found any morels growing in the ground here in Dutchess County, New York, but they’re selling them at Citarella for a shockingly high price. Here’s the good news, though: Since morels are hollow and therefore deceptively light, they never add up to the exorbitant expense their by-the-pound price would suggest. This is really worth remembering.
Buying morels this year reminded me of something my old cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli said to me when I was working with her on my first book. She said never mention anything about price when you’re writing about food. That’s not your job. It’s demeaning to the reader. Peculiar thing to say, I thought, since I always figured it should be part of my job to talk about how much ingredients could cost, if it seemed relevant, like now, for instance. I’m not sure what her thinking was, maybe wanting to appeal to the highest common denominator of cookbook readers in some snobby way. She brought this up several times and was pissed I hadn’t listened to her the first time. Maria was frequently pissed by a lot of things and not always fun to work with. Many of her reprimands, as a result, kind of blew by me. That was a while ago, and now I’m free and on my own and able to pass on any type of cooking wisdom to you. So remember, morels are never as expensive as they seem.
Chicken with morels is a classic dish I try to make at least once every spring. This version, with dry Marsala, I thought came out particularly well, so I’m passing it along. I also recently took the same morel sauce I used here for the chicken and tossed it with fettuccine, adding fresh peas (you could add favas instead, or asparagus tips). You might want to give that a try too.
And if you’re in the mood for another good spring cooking experience, do yourself a favor and get your hands on a bunch of Japanese turnips. They’re in season now. The things are really delicious, and they have no bitterness. In fact they’re sweet. I got mine from Migliorelli Farm at the Union Square Market, but many farm stands have them this time of year. What I did to prepare them was to peel them, cut the big ones in half and leave the little ones whole, sauté them in butter, adding a splash of dry vermouth and some salt and black pepper, and then cover the pan until they were tender, which took about 8 minutes. Then I added fresh thyme. I served them along side my morel chicken. It was a very good combination.
Braised Chicken with Morels and Marsala
4 whole chicken legs, separated into thighs and drumsticks
Salt
Black pepper
A few big scrapings of nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, cut into small dice
15 morel mushrooms, cut in half lengthwise if large, otherwise left whole
2 fresh bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme, the leaves lightly chopped
½ cup dry Marsala
1 cup homemade chicken broth
½ cup crème fraîche
A few drops of champagne vinegar
Season the chicken with salt, black pepper, and a little nutmeg.
Get out a large sauté pan fitted with a lid, and set it over medium-high heat. Add the butter and a drizzle of olive oil. When it’s hot, add the chicken, and brown the pieces on both sides. Take the chicken from the pan, and stick it on a plate or something that will catch the juices.
If you’ve got a lot of fat in the pan, pour some of it off, but leave a few tablespoons for flavor. Turn the heat to medium, and add the shallots to the pan, sautéing them for a minute. Add the morels, the bay leaves, and the thyme, and cook until everything is aromatic and starting to soften.
Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices it may have given off. Add the Marsala, and let it bubble for a few seconds. Add the chicken broth, and let everything come to a boil. Turn the heat to low, partially cover the pan, and cook until the chicken is just tender, about 25 minutes.
Take the chicken from the pan again. Add the crème fraîche to the pan, stirring it in over medium heat until it reduces slightly and forms a good sauce, adding a few drops of champagne vinegar, if needed, to bring up acidity. Return the chicken to the pan, and spoon the sauce over it. Serve hot. I served it with orzo, but rice (wild maybe) would be nice, or just some good bread.
Erica De Mane 