Cover photo Rich Leon
By Rich Leon
Morels are among the best-known wild mushrooms in North America. They grow in forests under both hardwoods and conifers, in abandoned orchards, around tree trunks or wood piles and in landscaped areas. Two of my favorite places to look for morels in eastern Washington are the cross-country ski trails and trail 100 on Mount Spokane. The end of May to the first part of June seems to be the prime time to find them. Â
I would like to make two very important points before I go any farther. One: never, ever eat any morels raw, and two: make sure you never undercook your morels. Having a good mushroom guidebook can be very helpful when you are out looking for morels or any other wild edible. I recommend a book called “Fruits of the Forest” by Daniel Winkler.
If you are lucky enough to find some morels, you can either use them fresh, as with this air fryer recipe below, or dry them for later use. This recipe serves four.Â
Ingredients: 20 medium to large morel mushrooms // 4-6 blocks of cream cheese // 3/4 cup breadcrumbs.
Instructions: Gently wash your morels and cut the stems off. Mix softened cream cheese and 2 T of the crushed cracker or breadcrumb mixture. Gently, using your fingers, stuff the mushrooms with the cream cheese mixture. Gently roll the stuffed mushrooms into the remaining crushed cracker mixture. Place the mushrooms into the air fryer basket. Air-fry the breaded mushrooms at 370 degrees F for 5-6 minutes. (Rich Leon)
