Need some new ideas for your upcoming summer picnics? Check out my Mediterranean Mushroom Salad Croissants over on The Mushroom Channel.

Mushrooms are the perfect centerpiece of Meatless Monday meals — particularly the meaty and flavorful fresh mushrooms now available at local farmers markets. And did you know that mushrooms are the only vegetable that provides Vitamin D? They also contain potassium, antioxidants and even protein. Morels, available locally for a very limited period in the spring, have an intense earthy flavor that is every bit as satisfying as a juicy steak — and that’s a good thing, as morels are about as pricey as a steak. Here in the DC area, they go for $20 a pint at the Mushroom Stand (Penn Quarter, Dupont Circle, Arlington farmers markets). I won’t depress my neighbors by mentioning how much I paid for them in Oregon. Regardless, they are worth the once- or twice-a-year splurge and make for an easy weeknight meal as they benefit from a very simple preparation with nothing more than butter, sea salt and a splash of wine. We enjoyed this with a salad of fresh herbs and Loudoun lettuce mix and a sourdough bread from the Penn Quarter farmers market.

To prep the morels, I swish them gently in a bowl of cold water before cutting them in half, length-wise, and rinsing gently under running water to remove any dirt or insects that may be hidden inside. Pat them dry and place on paper towels to air dry the rest of the way before cooking — cooking wet mushrooms can cause slimy or mushy results.

So far my son is about 50/50 on whether he’s in the mood to eat mushrooms, but an extra dose of grated cheese helps smooth the way. You can also make this with whatever kind of mushroom you have on hand when morels aren’t available — honey mushrooms are another favorite of ours.

Recipe: Egg Noodles with Morels

Ingredients:

• 1 pint morels, cleaned and halved (see above)
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• sea salt
• 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
• grated parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions: Cook egg noodles according to package instructions. While the noodles cook, melt one tablespoon of the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Cook the morels in a single layer until edges begin to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Turn them only once while cooking. When browned, sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt, add remaining three tablespoons of butter and the wine and let cook a minute more. Remove from heat. Drain egg noodles and toss with the parsley. Gently fold in the morels and sauce. Garnish with parmesan cheese, if desired, and enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

The FoodieTots family participates in Meatless Mondays, cutting out meat one day a week for our health and for the environment. (When we do eat meat, we choose local and grassfed whenever possible.) Visit the Meatless Monday pledge page to learn more and sign up for weekly tips and recipes you can use to go meatless, too!

We were very disappointed to lose the mushroom vendor from our neighborhood (Del Ray) market this past year, especially as I had made such great progress the prior year in convincing my previously mushroom-adverse husband that they really weren’t so bad. So now to get our local ’shroom fix I have to head to one of the FreshFarm markets, which means Dupont Circle in the winter months.

The preferred choice of both the husband and my son are these cute, sweet little honey mushrooms. They require little effort to prepare, and for a really easy meal, I whipped up some instant polenta, with a generous touch of cheese, then topped it with leftover tomato sauce and sauteed mushrooms.

Quick and scrumptious, what could be better for a (meatless) Monday night?

Recipe: Polenta al Funghi (Mushroom Polenta)

Ingredients:

• 1 pint honey mushrooms
• 1 box instant polenta
• 4 cups water
• salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup pasta sauce

Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil.

2. Rinse mushrooms and pat dry. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring only once or twice, until they begin to darken. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan and remove from heat. Season mushrooms with sea salt and pepper.

3. Prepare polenta as instructed on package. When thickened, stir in 1 tablespoon butter and the cheese. Remove from heat.

4. Warm pasta sauce.

5. Spoon polenta onto plates, shaping a small well in the center. Top with a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce and scatter mushrooms over the top. Enjoy! Makes 4 servings.

Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, look very similar to ginger root, but when you begin to peel them they offer an intensely concentrated artichoke aroma. Raw, they have the texture of a water chestnut, but taste sweeter and nuttier. They are a member of the tuber farm and are packed with iron and potassium. They aid in digestion and store carbs as inulin, not starch, making them an ideal substitute for potatoes. The farmer suggested roasting them or serving raw in a salad, but I’ve had sunchoke soup on the mind since Ramona’s post in the spring. This simple soup lets their flavor shine. I added mushrooms which added to the earthy flavor, but you can omit them.

Recipe: Creamy Sunchoke Soup
Adapted from Thomas Keller

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sunchokes
• 1 leek, white part and an inch of the green portion, rinsed well
• 1/2 cup maitake mushroom
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup cream

Instructions: Peel and thinly slice the sunchokes. (They are a little tricky to peel, so go carefully.) Slice the leek cross-wise into thin strips. Coarsely chop the mushrooms. Melt butter in stock pot over medium low heat. Add sunchokes and leeks and cook until they are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more. Season with white pepper and salt, and stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree in blender or with stick blender until smooth. (If using hand-held blender, you may wish to strain through a chinois strainer or cheesecloth to remove any extra lumps.) Stir in cream, warm over low heat for two minutes, then remove from heat and serve. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Farms of Origin: Organic sunchokes and leek, Next Step Produce and maitake from the Mushroom Lady, Dupont Circle Farmers Market. Butter from South Mountain Creamery.

There are few things more comforting on a chilly winter day than a piping hot chicken pot pie out of the oven. Pot pie was one of the first things I taught myself to make when I was learning to cook, and is what I crave when I’m sick. This turkey version provides another option for your Thanksgiving leftovers, or use two fresh turkey breasts. This recipe also makes use of the chanterelle mushrooms that are in season at the farmers markets, though you can use whatever mushrooms you find at your store or even reconstitute dried chanterelles.

Recipe: Chanterelle Turkey Pot PIe

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 9 inch pie crusts
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsely, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups leftover turkey meat, shredded or 2 fresh turkey breast tenders
• 1 cup chanterelle mushrooms, diced

Instructions: If using a bottom crust, roll out and place in pie plate. Roll out top crust and lay aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. [If using fresh turkey breasts, cube the meat, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat in saute pan until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Remove turkey to plate and cover to keep warm.] Melt butter over medium heat and cook garlic and onion several minutes, until soft. Reduce heat to low, add flour and cook one minute until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk, whisking over low heat until sauce thickens, stir in herbs, salt & pepper and remove from heat. Mix in turkey meat and mushrooms and pour into prepared pie pan. Top with crust, poke a few slits to allow steam to escape, and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Makes 6 servings. Enjoy!