By Hong Chhuor, Communications Coordinator
One of the great pleasures of subscribing to a CSA (community supported agriculture) program is that you often open up your box to find fun surprises. What kind of veggie is that?? is a thought that often crosses my mind. In my Seattle Tilth CSA box this week, I was super excited to discover wild morel mushrooms that had been foraged by one of our Seattle Tilth Farm Works participants, Khae Saetern of KTK Farm. Check out his bounty in the photo below…
I had never cooked with morel mushrooms before, so I was also a bit intimidated by the idea of preparing this totally alien looking fungi. Luckily, the weekly CSA e-newsletter comes with a handy recipe featuring items that come in your box, so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Kale & Morel Stir-Fry
Ingredients
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and steamed
10-20 Morel mushrooms
1 block firm tofu, cubed
1 onion, thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons natural soy sauce
2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, ginger, almond butter, olive oil, sesame oil and salt and mix well.
- Slice the morels in long strips and soak in the sauce.
- In a pan lightly fry the coconut oil, tofu, onions and kale. Pour in the mushrooms with the sauce and mix well.
Recipe by Jennifer McClelland, bedeliciouslyhealthy.com.
As you can probably see from the photos, I veered somewhat from the recipe — my ginger was julienned instead of chopped and I added coconut oil to my sauce in addition to the using it to fry everything. You also don’t have to chop your tofu into such small cubes, but I found it easier to stir-fry that way. Enjoy!
What a marvelous surprise: I wonder if the members of the Seattle Tilth CSA realize how lucky they are! In Austin area, the biggest CSA treat we get are oranges, grapefruits or pecans. Morels are one of the most highly esteemed regional foods from the French-Swiss Borderland region where my partner, the co-owner of Sojourner Tours, grew up. When we take tours there and his father, who owns the hotel where we base our stay, often makes a wonderful chicken & morel dish for our guests (Recipe: http://en.franche-comte.org/About-Franche-Comte/Regional-Products/Recettes-de-cuisine2/Fattened-chicken-in-Yellow-Wine-and-morel-mushrooms). My favorite way to eat them is in a creamy sauce on a crusty piece of country bread: “Croute aux Morilles”. Bon Appetite! -Lisa (Owner Sojourner Tours)
Yum! That looks delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe and story, Lisa. We definitely feel fortunate for the variety and abundance of food that we have access to up in the Pacific Northwest and hope that our CSA members are pleased by the produce they find in their boxes.
🙂