No. 2758

Mushrooms a la Rivera—Morils

Champignons Morilles a la Rivera

Select large-sized morils; cut off the stalks, wash well and throw them into a saucepanful of tepid water; leave to soak for half an hour, then take them up, one by one, and rub them several times through the hands, being careful not to break them and changing the water each time so as to remove all the adhering sand, then drain. Cut some lean ham into one-eighth inch dice pieces, fry in butter, add the morils and toss both together, then moisten with half a pint of good sherry and a little Malaga; season and cook slowly for half an hour. Fry some sweet Spanish peppers in oil; when done and well drained, add a little meat glaze (No. 402) and lemon juice. Dress the morils in the center of a dish and surround with the sweet peppers; bestrew with chopped parsley.

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For the Modern Kitchen Do not make this as written.

A late-19th-century restaurant treatment of morels: stewed in sherry with ham, ringed with fried pimientos. The technique holds up, but a few of Ranhofer's shorthand terms and quantities need translating.

Washing is the hingeMorels are hollow and honeycombed, and they hold grit that will ruin the dish. The soak-and-rub sequence in the original is not fussiness; do it exactly, changing the water each time until no sand settles in the bottom of the bowl. Drain them well or the sherry will not reduce.
Never eat morels raw or lightly cookedRaw or undercooked true morels cause gastrointestinal illness; the responsible toxin has not been firmly identified, though hydrazine compounds have been suggested. Thorough cooking is the safeguard, and the half hour of slow stewing here is ample. Do not taste them raw and do not shorten the cooking to keep them firm.
Identify the speciesThis calls for true morels (Morchella). False morels (Gyromitra) are a different genus and are genuinely dangerous however they are cooked. Buy from a reputable source rather than relying on a foraged bag of unknown provenance.
Half a pint of sherryOne cup in American measure. Ranhofer gives no weight of morels, so read it as a generous quantity of wine meant to reduce to a syrupy sauce over the half hour. "A little Malaga" is a sweet fortified wine from Málaga in Andalusia; a tablespoon or two of Pedro Ximénez or a sweet oloroso gives the same effect.
Meat glaze, No. 402Ranhofer's glaze is veal or beef stock reduced until it sheets and sets to a jelly when cold. A teaspoon of commercial demi-glace concentrate, or a spoonful of your own reduced stock, does the same job of gloss and depth.
Sweet Spanish peppersMost likely pimientos, the short, thick-fleshed red peppers, rather than bell peppers, and nothing hot. Jarred piquillos, drained and warmed briefly in oil, are the closest thing on a modern shelf and save the peeling.
Lean hamAn unsmoked or lightly smoked dry-cured ham is what is wanted; serrano or a good prosciutto cotto both work. Heavily smoked American ham will overwhelm the morels.
Dried morelsIf using dried, roughly 2 to 3 oz reconstitutes to about a pound fresh. Soak in warm water, lift them out rather than pouring, and strain the soaking liquid to add to the sherry.
YieldThe recipe specifies no quantities; about a pound of morels dressed this way would serve four as a first course, or two as a supper dish with bread.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer ran the kitchen at Delmonico's in New York, and The Epicurean (1894) is essentially that restaurant's working repertoire set down in full, which is why a single mushroom is given several preparations in a row. "Morille" is the French name for Morchella, a spring mushroom that was not cultivated commercially in Ranhofer's day and so would have reached New York dried from Europe or, expensively, fresh — a luxury item suited to a house that traded on luxury. The Spanish accents here, sherry, Malaga and pimientos, presumably account for the name, though what or whom "Rivera" refers to is not recorded. The dish also shows the Delmonico habit of building a garnish that is a small recipe in itself: the peppers get their own frying, glazing and acidulating before they are allowed near the plate.