Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Morilles Sautées
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2084, Morilles Sautées, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Morilles Sautées teach the clean logic of the sauté: dry mushrooms, fierce heat, enough butter, and no crowding, followed by lemon and parsley at the last moment before the bowl reaches the table.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
20 min
Active Time
10 min cook•30 min total
Yield4 servings
Morilles Sautées (morels sautéed in butter) teach the rule hidden inside every proper sauté: the food must meet hot fat dry enough, with room enough, that it browns before its water can collect. Morels are hollow sponges with honeycombed caps. If they carry wash water into the pan, even a fierce fire spends itself making soup.
The original entry does not call on a saucier, a stock never off the fire, or a salamander. Its professional scaffolding was simpler: a broad omelet-pan over a fierce range, extra hands to wash and dry every cap, and a timbale waiting at service. For one cook, one stove, one evening, a wide 12-inch skillet, two clean towels, and a warmed shallow bowl do the same work. The portion is scaled to four side servings because capacity and service belonged to the brigade; the thorough washing, towel-drying, butter, fierce heat, lemon, and parsley remain untouched because they are the dish.
Drying is the step that decides everything. If the pan floods despite your care, keep the heat high and let the liquid boil away before you resume tossing. Ça se rattrape. Still, prevention tastes better: don't touch the pan until the towels come away clean and no droplets remain inside the caps.
Morels are prized across France, but in the wooded Jura of Franche-Comté they have a particularly strong table life, appearing with poultry, cream, and local vin jaune. Morilles Sautées belong to broader classical service rather than one regional sauce, carrying the forager's mushroom into grand kitchens as a vegetable garnish for eggs, veal, or poultry. The restrained finish of butter, lemon, and parsley preserves the morel's woodland perfume instead of burying it.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh morels
Quantity
6 loosely packed cups (1.4 L / 340 g)
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2.5 g)
fresh flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g)
finely chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh morels | 6 loosely packed cups (1.4 L / 340 g) |
| unsalted butter | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| fine sea salt | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 3 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| fresh lemon juice | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 2.5 g) |
| fresh flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) wide heavy skillet
- •Two clean absorbent kitchen towels
- •Warm shallow serving bowl
Instructions
- 1
Wash Away the Grit
Put the morels in a large bowl of cold water and agitate them gently, opening the honeycombed caps with your fingers so grit and small forest debris can escape. Lift the mushrooms into a second bowl rather than pouring them out with the dirty water. Repeat with fresh water until no sand remains at the bottom, then trim away any dried stem ends. Work promptly and never leave morels soaking; thorough washing removes grit, while a long bath fills every hollow with water.
- 2
Dry and Cut
Roll the morels gently in one clean towel, then spread them over a second and pat every cap and hollow dry. Leave them exposed for five minutes while the skillet heats. Halve the small and medium mushrooms lengthwise and quarter the largest, checking the hollow interiors as you work. Season with the salt and pepper only when the pan is ready, because salted mushrooms left waiting begin to draw their own moisture.
- 3
Sauté Over Fierce Heat
Heat a wide 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until properly hot, then add the butter. When it foams vigorously and remains butter-gold, add the seasoned morels in a loose single layer. If they cannot lie without crowding, cook two batches and divide the butter and seasoning between them. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing only often enough to expose new surfaces, until the morels are tender throughout, slightly contracted, and browned along their ridges. If liquid collects, don't drain it or lower the heat. Spread the mushrooms out and let the liquid boil away, then continue until the butter coats them again. Ça se rattrape. Morels must be thoroughly cooked, never merely warmed.
- 4
Finish and Serve
Take the skillet off the heat and add the lemon juice a few drops at a time, tossing after each addition. The lemon should sharpen the butter without making the mushrooms taste sour. Sprinkle over the parsley, toss once more, and transfer the Morilles Sautées immediately to a warmed shallow bowl. Their honeycombed surfaces should gleam with butter, with no puddle of mushroom water beneath them. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Fresh morels are essential here. Dried morels are splendid after soaking, especially in sauces, but they cannot reproduce the springy texture of this plain sauté. If fresh morels aren't available, wait for their season rather than pretending the substitution is invisible.
- •Buy morels from a trustworthy market or experienced forager. Never rely on a photograph or a single identifying feature when gathering wild mushrooms, and cook even correctly identified morels thoroughly before serving.
- •Use butter, not oil, and keep the pan attended. The mushrooms cool the butter as they enter, while their moisture protects it during the first moments of cooking. Once the pan dries, toss more often so the milk solids bronze without burning.
- •Serve beside roast poultry, veal, softly scrambled eggs, or an omelette. A dry Jura white is particularly happy here, but the mushrooms need no elaborate company.
Advance Preparation
- •The morels may be washed, cut, and dried up to 2 hours ahead. Arrange them loosely between dry towels in the refrigerator so trapped moisture cannot collect around them.
- •Chop the parsley and measure the lemon before heating the skillet. Do not sauté the mushrooms ahead; they lose their supple edges and begin to weep when held or reheated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 75g)
Calories
105 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
23 mg
Sodium
315 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
3 g
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