2–1/2 oz dried morel mushrooms – substitute fresh if possible
1 Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheet
1 egg white
1 small garlic clove – minced
1 small to medium shallot – finely chopped
2 TBL unsalted butter
1 TBL lemon juice – freshly squeezed
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 splash of cream sherry
1 cup heavy cream
Salt – to taste
Ground black pepper – to taste
Fresh dill weed – garnish – optional
Instructions
If using fresh morels, clean and de-stem them. If using dried morels, rinse them, use a salad spinner to remove excess water then let them air dry on a paper towel for 30 minutes. Heat 3-4 cups of water to a simmer, then drop in the morels and let them steep for 30 minutes. Use a salad spinner to remove the excess water again, then transfer to a bowl, cover with a damp paper towel and reserve until ready to use, up to an hour
Butter a cookie sheet and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees
Remove the puff pastry from the packaging, wrap in paper towels and microwave for 15 seconds. Turn over and microwave another 15 seconds, turn one last time and microwave a final 5 seconds until the pastry is flexible. Unwrap and unfold on a lightly floured surface then cut each sheet into 4″ x 4″ square pieces. Place them on the cookie sheet and return to the refrigerator until ready to bake them
Melt the butter in a large pan over low-medium heat, add the garlic and shallots, and cook until the shallots turn translucent – about 2 minutes
Add the mushrooms and turn to coat them in the butter-garlic-shallot sauce
Season with a sprinkle of salt and 2-3 turns of your pepper grinder
Paint the puff pastry with an egg white wash. Place the puff pastry in the oven and bake 13- 15 minutes until golden brown on top
Continue to saute the mushrooms for about 7 minutes, stirring on low heat and take care not to burn the garlic and shallots
Stir in the thyme leaves and lemon juice
Raise heat to medium and when the lemon juice has evaporated, add the splash of sherry
When the sherry has evaporated, lower heat to low medium and stir in the cream
Cook and stir with a spatula until it has thickened. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm
Plate the baked puff pastry squares, divide the mushrooms in cream sauce evenly over each portion, garnish with dill weed and serve immediately while hot