Morel Mushroom Crostini with Cranberry Balsamic Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup morel mushrooms
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp soya sauce
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup 35% cream
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Crostini
- 1 baguette
- 1 or 2 tbsp olive oil
Cranberry Balsamic Glaze
- 1/2 cup cranberry juice
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 Tbsp butter
Homemade Cranberry Juice
- 1 cup frozen low bush cranberries
- 3 cups water
Instructions
Fill
- 1.Place morels in a small bowl and pour boiling water over top. Leave to re-constitute for about 30 minutes.
2.Meantime, heat butter and oil in a medium-sized cast iron frying pan over medium heat. Once sizzling, add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat until morels are ready to cook.
3.Squeeze excess water from the morels, reserving the liquid. Slice larger morels into bite-sized pieces and leave tiny ones whole.
4.Place the pan holding the onions back on the burner, set on medium. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for a good 5 to 7 minutes.
5.Pour in the reserved soaking liquid and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Stir in thyme. Add wine and simmer until reduced by half, then add cream.
6.Cook until the cream has thickened enough that it’s little more than a coating on the mushrooms. Remove from heat and reserve.
Crostini
- 1.Preheat oven to 400F. Spread crostini out onto two baking trays. Bake for 5 minutes, until undersides are just beginning to brown.
2.Brush olive oil on the browned side of each round. Pile a spoonful of the morel mixture onto each one, not overloading the slices, but covering the bread.
3.Bake for 5 minutes.
4.Remove from the oven, arrange on a platter and drizzle glaze over top. Serve at once.
Cranberry Balsamic Glaze
- 1.Combine cranberry juice, vinegar and sugar in a small pot set over medium heat. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to a thick syrup, about 20 minutes.
2.Remove from heat and whisk in butter, one tablespoon at a time. Cool to room temperature. To drizzle, dip a spoon in the glaze and trace lines across each crostino. (There will be drips!)
Homemade Cranberry Juice
- 1. Combine 1 cup cranberries and 1 cup water in a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
2. Line a small sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a small bowl. Pour the cranberry mixture into the sieve.
3. Pour water, half a cup at a time, into the sieve and allow it to drip into the bowl. Once all the water has passed through the sieve, gather the corners of the cheesecloth together and squeeze gently until most of the liquid is expressed. (Save the pulp for smoothies.)
4. Store juice in the fridge for up to one month.
Notes
FILL
Makes about 2 cups, enough for about 24 crostini. Refrigerate any leftover mixture and eat within 3 or 4 days. (Try it on toast or folded into an omelette.)Crostini
Makes about 24 crostini.Cranberry Balsamic Glaze
Store glaze in the refrigerator and use within 2weeks.
Homemade Cranberry Juice
Makes 3 cups.On Wednesday October 16at 8 pm patrons emerged from Arts Underground to a howling blizzard on Main Street. Winter had descended on Whitehorse without our knowledge or consent, while we sat cocooned in warmth at Yukon Words’ monthly Words Out Loud presentation, enchanted by stories and poems from Yukon writers.
Now, our pleasant dream had been ripped away; our long, benign fall extinguished. I, for one, was not pleased, and uttered several colourful words out loud, hunched over in not enough clothes, hurrying towards my friend’s car.
Two days later my mood had shifted. The snow fell and fell, in swirling clouds lit from above by streetlights outside the bedroom window. As I watched the snow settle on fences and trees, on cars and fat-tire bike riders, I remembered how much I love winter, remembered I moved here partly because of winter.
It was an easy pivot to an open-armed embrace of the beauties of the season—skis gliding through the forest, blue shadows, warm smells from the kitchen.
Winter drinks like apple cider and spiced teas came to mind, and on their heels, snacks to accompany. (See below, for one idea.)
It took another pivot to remember that winter is not so great when you’re not well clothed, fed or housed. The charitable organizations need donations more than ever at this time of year.
If you have winter clothing to donate, the Whitehorse Community Thrift Store accepts clothing, shoes, and boots in good condition, and several organizations in the communities do as well. Local food banks always need donations of money or food. The Food Bank Society of the Yukon provides food for households in Whitehorse and six communities, and the website spells out what the society needs and when to drop it off.
For information on where to find free or low-cost clothing in Whitehorse and the communities, check Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition’s (YAPC) guide, Surviving in the Yukon. YAPC also publishes a monthly guide on where to find free food in Whitehorse.
One of the greatest beauties of the season is sharing food and warmth with friends, neighbours and our communities.
