Dried Morel Bisque is a modern British recipe (based on a French original) for a classic soup of dried and reconstituted morel mushrooms pureed with rice in a chicken stock, sherry and cream base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Dried Morel Bisque.
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Morels (both the white and black types) really are the forager's delight. Drying according to the preserving by drying recipe is one of the best ways of storing them, particularly if you find a large collection of them (which might be the case in a garden with bark mulch or on a lawn or a burnt forest). This way you can keep the morels for a long time. This French-inspired recipe is a great way of making the most of dried morels, particularly if you're preparing them for a dinner party. This is also an excellent recipe for a more elegant dinner, particularly for an occasion like New Year.
Ingredients:
1l chicken stock
250ml double cream
65g rice (long grain or medium grain)
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 celery sticks, finely diced
120ml sherry or brandy
30g dried morel mushrooms
sea salt to taste
freshly-ground white pepper, to taste
6 tbsp unsalted butter
Sliced chives or wild onion greens, to garnishing (optional)
Method:
Arrange the morels in a heat-proof bowl. Bring the stock to a simmer then pour over the dried morels and allow to re-hydrate for 30 minutes. At the end of this time swish the bowl to remove the grit from the mushrooms. Remove the morels from the liquid and set aside then strain the liquid and keep separate.
Separate the mushrooms into 2 piles: saving the prettiest, smallest mushrooms that will fit on a spoon for garnish. Coarsely chop the remainder.
Melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and sweat down for 5 minutes. Now add the rice and stir-fry for a minute. Pour in the reserved stock, and sherry, add the chopped morels then bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes over low heat, until the rice is just tender.
Take the mixture off the heat then turn into a blender. Pulse to chop then add the cream and puree for 1–2 minutes, carefully starting on low speed and gradually moving to high as you get comfortable (note that hot soup in a blender can be dangerous — make sure there's room for air to escape through the top of the blender lid while pureeing). Gradually add 3 tablespoons of butter. Finally, season the mixture to taste with salt and white pepper to taste.
If needed, return the soup to the pan and warm through. Melt the remaining butter in a pan, add the reserved pretty morels and fry until just caramelized and lightly browned.
Ladle the hot soup into warmed soup bowls, top with the fried morels then garnish with chives or wild onion greens, if using.
