April and May are the first months that I find one of the few mushroom species I feel comfortable in identifying on my own and eating. Morels are often the most sought after an
d I don’t think they are cultivated commercially like varieties we buy in the store. I think most morels we are served in restaurants are picked in the wild. We generally see what we call white or black morels. The picture of the black morel is a stock photo, but I found the whites one near the house this week totally by accident. Everyone has theories and guidelines as to where to look for morels; old apple trees, moist poplar groves, abandoned farmsteads. I hear lots of guidance on where to look, but like what an old timer said once quietly after listening to 4 different people give their theory on where to look. The older gentleman smiles at me, turned to walk away and said “Morels are where you find them, that’s about all you can count on.” I was on the lawn mower when I found these white morels. I was carefully watching the mower deck on the right to stay along the edge when a cream colored patch passed by quickly and disappeared under the back tire. I jammed on the breaks and said “that looked like a patch of morels!!!” I jumped off the mower and walked back, yep, really nice bunch of white morels smashed flat as a pancake by the mower tire. I looked around the area and found these. Shallots, butter, pepper on a thin tagliatelle pasta. A Spring treat.
