Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Beautiful Mushrooms and Tibetan Terriers

Sherpa, CH Deep Acres Autumn Splendor

Were you wondering at all what we did with those beautiful morel mushrooms?

Well, before I tell you I just have to share these beautiful pics of my boy Sherpa, CH Deep Acres Autumn Splendor, in the the ring at the 2011 national specialty show.

Sherpa strutting his stuff

Now as for those mushrooms, we made fresh pasta. It was delish! A beautiful-hearty stew-like pasta.

Homemade Pasta with Morel Sauce


Pasta:
2 cups AP flour
Dash salt
6 Tblsp. water
1.5 Tblsp. Olive Oil
5 large egg yolks
water for boiling (6 quarts)

Sauce:
Olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 shallot, sliced thin (we used wild ramps!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
large handful fresh morel mushrooms (about 1.5 cups) cleaned and halved
1 tsp. dried thyme
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
salt & pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cups vegetable stock
toasted pine nuts and parmesan for serving



combine flour and dash of salt in food processor (we used the KitchenAid mixer with dough hook and finished combining with our hands/paws). combine water, olive oil and egg yolks and stir well with a whisk. with processor running, pour egg mixture in through the chute, processing just until dough forms a ball. turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 5 ties. shape into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

pat dough into a rectangle approx. 8" x 3", 1 " thick. Divide into 8 equal portions. working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), divide dough into 14 equal pieces. Roll each piece between your palms to form a 2 inch strand. put strands on a well floured pan. repeat with remaining dough.

boil 6 quarts of water. Shake excess flour off pasta and add to boiling water, cooking until done, about 1.5-2 minutes. Drain.

heat olive oil in large skillet over med. high heat. Add onion, sautee for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. make a clear spot in pan, add garlic and thyme, cook for about a minute, then add salt & pepper. Add morel mushrooms, reduce heat, cover and cook for about 4 minutes. remove cover, and cook about 2 minutes until liquid almost evaporates. clear a spot in the pan, add tomato paste, cook about a minute, then stir tomato paste in with mushroom mixture. Stir in 1 cup of veggie broth. cook for 8 minutes until very thick. add rest of veggie broth, cook for 4 minutes more until slightly thick. Turn off heat and toss sauce with cooked pasta. serve topped with toasted pine nuts and grated parmesan.

Enjoy!