Last Updated on March 25, 2024 by Aaron von Frank
Morel mushroom orzo is a simple and delicious dish that showcases the wonderful flavor of seasonal morel mushrooms!
A new morel mushroom recipe
This year, after bringing home a nice haul of large, blond morels with our young son, we decided to create a tasty morel mushroom orzo recipe.
Wild child! Our son hovering over a beautiful morel mushroom.
Morels feature a rich yet delicate flavor, so adding them to a creamy orzo is a great way to showcase them. After a family dinner, we concurred that this recipe is ready to share with the world.
Morel mushroom orzo.
We hope you enjoy it as much as us!
More morel recipes:
Just in case you’re looking for additional morel mushroom recipes to try with your bounty, here are a few of our favorites:
- Morel mushroom pâté
- Stinging nettle pasta with morel mushrooms and poached duck eggs
- Maple candied morel mushrooms with spruce needle whipped cream (yes, a morel dessert recipe!)
Safety warning:
There are life-threatening risks with eating wild-foraged foods, and you assume those risks if you make this recipe. Also note that:
- Morel mushrooms should ALWAYS be thoroughly cooked prior to consumption.
- False morels are a poisonous lookalike to morel mushrooms.
For more information, read: How to find, identify, and safely consume morel mushrooms in the Southeastern United States (we live in South Carolina). If you’re a new forager, make sure you consult more experienced foragers and/or expert guide books before eating a new wild food.
Recipe: Morel mushroom orzo
Follow the instructions in the recipe below to make a delicious morel mushroom orzo with fresh seasonal ingredients!
Morel mushroom processing tips: 1. You don’t want any sand or grit in your dish. If necessary, flash rinse your morels in cold water prior to cutting to remove dirt/grit. 2. Always cut a morel mushroom in half before cooking since there can sometimes be insects or other critters living in the central cavity. Better to find them in the prep phase than the eating phase of a meal. 3. Cut larger morels into ~1″ sized pieces before cooking to ensure that they cook evenly and you get bite-sized pieces in the meal.
Also, in case you’re wondering, the garnishes in the photos include fresh Meyer lemon zest, onion chives, pansies, and wood sorrel flowers. However, you can use any foraged or garden-fresh garnishes as you see fit!
Morel mushroom orzo
A delicious savory orzo recipe made with morel mushrooms and other seasonal produce.
Ingredients
- 1 cup *orzo (*Each brand of orzo is different and requires slightly different cook times. We used a tri-color orzo that takes 8-10 minutes to cook. Whole wheat orzo will take longer.)
- 3 cups fresh morel mushrooms (measured chopped into 1" pieces) (about 10 large morels)
- 1.5 cups shallots, measured finely diced (about 3 large shallots)
- 3/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup white wine (we used a Torrontés, but any good white wine works)
- 4 tbsp organic grass-fed butter
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1.5 cups fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or more to taste)
- 2/3 cup organic cream
- 1/3 cup pasta/orzo water (taken during straining orzo)
- 1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice + fresh zest from one lemon
- salt for water when boiling orzo + (maybe) salt to taste prior to serving finished dish
- recommended garnishes: onion or garlic chives, seasonal flowers, fresh Meyer lemon zest
Instructions
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Prep ingredients: Grate parmesan. Juice and zest Meyer lemon. Dice shallots. Prep morels with a light cleaning/rinsing in cold water if necessary, then cut into roughly 1" pieces. Or if you're using smaller tulip morels, you can just cut them in half. Sometimes, there can be creepy crawlies in the interior cavity of morels, so you want to find those in prep, not in your meal (e.g. don't use whole morels).
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Put large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots + 2 tbsp butter. Cook for about 10 minutes until shallots are just starting to brown. Scrape shallots to one side of pan and add morel mushrooms + 2 more tbsp butter. Stir morels and pile of shallots every 1-2 minutes as they cook.
Once morels start cooking, bring SALTED water to boil (for orzo) in separate pot, ~2 tsp salt per 1/2 gallon water. You want the cooked orzo to have some salt flavor to it. Note the cook time on your brand of orzo so that you don't completely cook it. You want it slightly under-cooked when you strain it. Example: If cook time is 8 minutes, strain at 6 minutes. When straining orzo, set aside about 1/3 cup of the water. This will be added back into morel pan.
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Once orzo is strained, set it aside momentarily. Then deglaze morel/shallot pan with white wine. Add cream, pasta water, and chicken bouillon. Then put orzo into pan and stir in. Add peas and stir. Let ingredients cook down for another ~10 minutes over medium low heat, stirring as needed to prevent scalding.
Remove from heat then stir in grated parmesan cheese and fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more salt if needed. Garnish in serving dish or on individual plates as desired.
Serve immediately!
KIGI,
More morel articles you’ll love:
- Morel mushroom pâté
- Stinging nettle pasta with morels and poached duck eggs
- Maple candied morel mushrooms with spruce needle whipped cream
- How to find morel mushrooms in the southeast US
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