Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans
Buttery fava beans still in its pale green skin are added to sauteed morel mushrooms in this recipe. Crème fraîche, a cultured cream, gives the dish a rich tang. It’s a simple way of enjoying what is arguably the most coveted of spring produce.
When it comes to fresh ingredients, sometimes the simplest recipes are best. That’s what I want to say, but to be honest, I just didn’t want to screw up the morels. It’s one ingredient that makes me nervous in the kitchen and you can bet I went all eagle-eye on the morels as it cooked.
The fragrance released by the sauteed morels, obviously that of a mushroom but much deeper than any others, is nothing short of addictive. It makes you want to risk facial oil burns as you bend over the hot skillet and catch a whiff.
recipe adapted from Saveur
My Legume Love Affair hosted by Coco Cooks
Click: Spring 2009 hosted by Jugalbandi
Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans
with Crème Fraîche
makes about 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients:
3 pounds fresh fava / broad beans in the pod
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
12 to 15 fresh morels (about 4 ounces), cleaned and halved or quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon crème fraîche
salt, to taste
Directions:
- Remove the fava beans from pods and rinse under cold running water. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the fava beans to the boiling water and simmer just until soft, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and reserve.
- Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the morel mushrooms and gently cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the crème fraîche, then the favas, and cook just until the favas are heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
Something smells good.
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April 19th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
What gorgeous photos, what amazing talent you have! And the recipe is simple, but I bet so tasty. I just love love love morels, and what a combo with the fava beans!! Beautiful!
April 19th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
An interesting dish and combination! Really spring.like and delicious looking!
Cheers,
Rosa
April 19th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
This dish looks so interesting! Wish I could try it
April 19th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
This is delightful. I can’t get enough of morels right now, and I’m itching to get my hands on some again. If I do, I’m serving this up.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Wow. See, that’s just unfair. The farmers markets up here aren’t open for another month (!!!) yet, and there you’re taunting me with favas. And morels. You shouldn’t do that unless you’re prepared to send me some, just so you know.
April 20th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Can I come over?
I have never had fresh fava beans, only dried or frozen.
And morels, only in my dreams. They both look so delicious.
I promise to bring wine!
April 20th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I wish we had a farmers market here in my town, all I see is canned,packed and some “fresh” vegetables
well, I guess living in a petroleum camp is not easy. This dish is tempting me, so fresh, the colors are beautiful and the pictures are awesome . This is the first time I see morel mushrooms 8/
April 20th, 2009 at 6:48 am
This recipe looks so fresh and delicious! I have never eaten fava beans nor morels. But I can’t help thinking about Silence of the Lambs.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Simply GORGEOUS!! Even though those morels aren’t very pretty, they look gorgeous here! This is such a simple dish to prepare but entirely wonderful. I love the addition of just a splash of creme fraiche.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Beautiful dish, we had something similar at a restaurant yesterday topped with a slice of pork loin.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Freaking spring – how I missed it.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:13 am
I’ve never had morels but of course, reading about them on blogs is making me want to try them! Nice dish, and great photo, as always!
April 20th, 2009 at 9:50 am
although i can’t say i enjoy morels (or any mushrooms, really), i am a huge fan of fava beans. so meaty. and the creme fraiche is a lovely touch.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:52 am
You just combined two of my all-time favorites! I love both favas and morels! However, you must be somewhere warmer than Seattle. No favas here yet!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
What a great combo and I have to try cooking with these ingredients more. Your photos are gorgeous as usual!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:35 am
I have never cooked morels. Sounds like a lovely dish esp.the addition of the creme which takes it to another level.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:44 am
There are a lot of great morel recipes popping up everywhere! Here is another one. Nice pairing with the fava beans.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I just made a quart of creme fraiche to use with spring produce (specifically, our asparagus)—you’re right about it being a great way to enjoy those fresh veggies.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever been able to get either morels or fresh fava beans. But you have now set off serious lust in my heart.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
What an interesting and appetizing combination. Very light and fresh. Perfect Spring time meal!
April 20th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I love the fava and morel combination, and the creme fraiche, I’m drooling just looking at the photos.:)
BTW, are skins soft? I always take out the fava skins before cooking them.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
This is simply gorgeous – real, unadulterated, earthy, naturally-beautiful food.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Looks yummy! I’ve never had morels before, but I’ve been longing to try them!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Jude! Yay for fresh morels! I just picked some up on Saturday from my awesome grocery. And fava beans? I just tried them last week cooking a French laundry recipe- I bet they tasted perfect with the mushrooms.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
It’s so hard to find fresh morels where I live. When I do get my hands on some I’ll be attempting this recipe. Looks great Jude!
April 21st, 2009 at 3:51 am
Haven’t had either of these before – but have heard so much about them. And then I see these brilliant pics and the recipe for such a simple but obviously flavourful dish – I want to have these NOW!
April 21st, 2009 at 10:43 am
Can you believe I’ve still never had either morels or fava beans? I’m dying to find them, but they still haven’t landed in my local markets!
April 21st, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Beautiful. Wonderful. So delicious. So Spring. I love it. I’m hungry.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Gorgeous photos, and what a perfect spring dish! Delicious!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Lovely combination. I have to ask, were these morels fresh or reconstituted? I wonder because I’ve never seen fresh morels so small. Don’t get me wrong—I would never turn down morel mushrooms in any form—but we used to live on a farm and the morels we readily found each spring were HUGE. I miss those days. Will try this combination soon!
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
A beautiful and healthy dish. Great job.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:32 pm
I have been meaning to try morels. I LOVE your photos for this post!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I have a pound of fresh Morels coming this Friday but I’ve never seen the fresh fava beans. Otherwise I would so try this recipe. It looks delicious.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Simply. Beautiful.
I love the care with which you handle the morels.
LL
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Oggi – There was a bit of resistance when you bite into it, but the fava bean skins were soft enough. The original recipe mentioned that as long as the beans are pale green, skinning is optional.
Sandie – The morels were fresh. In the batch I had, the sizes varied wildly — some as big as a thumbnail, some as big as a thumb.
April 24th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Finally getting here to leave a comment. What can I say, this is a beautiful dish. Great use of bot the the morels and the legumes.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:41 am
I absolutely love morels! What a great dish to celebrate the taste of the actual beans and mushrooms.
April 24th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
dear jude, how can you not send this gorgeousness for CLICK spring? fava beans and morels have spring written all over them.
April 25th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Don’t you just love spring? That looks wonderful….
April 26th, 2009 at 11:20 am
what a perfect seasonal side dish. it’s one of those combos that you long for all winter. as usualy, lovely.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Bee – Just submitted the first photo as an entry!
May 5th, 2009 at 7:54 am
[...] Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans ~ Apple Pie, Patis, and Pâté [...]
May 5th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Congratulations Jude!
May 5th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Jude, congratulations on winning Click this month! It’s a lovely photo!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:47 am
[...] mushroom recipes from other food blogs: Sauteed Morel Mushrooms with Fava Beans – Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate Veal Chops with Morel Mushrooms – Sunday Nite Dinner Cream of Wild [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 11:00 am
The colors, textures and comp are lovely – no wonder you nailed a Click award. Bet it tastes fabulous, too.
September 9th, 2010 at 5:02 am
[...] Dijon & Sage Glaze on Cookin’ Canuck Phyllo Mushroom Bundles on The Pioneer Woman Cooks Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans on Apple Pie, Patis and Paté Creamed Mushrooms on Chive Butter Toast on Smitten Kitchen [...]
October 18th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
It was a outstanding post
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:01 pm
[...] fava beans [...]
February 14th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Just want to say hello. Really cool blog design. May I ask what template this is? I’ve been trying to find a good one for a while.
April 18th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
I’ve read that the steam/vapor rising from cooking morels contains toxins until the mushrooms have cooked for ~10 minutes (time from memory). Use caution when inhaling the aroma.
May 12th, 2011 at 7:35 am
[...] “GUTS?“ I feel like I am being taunted by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger….yeah I got the ‘GUTS‘, Gerry (now that you have done the research for me). What kind of throwdown is this? I TRUST you. I am going to make Sauteed Morel Mushrooms and Fresh Fava Beans with Creme Fraiche. [...]
June 15th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
[...] Sautéed Morel Mushrooms and Fava Beans on Apple Pie, Patis & Paté Fava Bean Dip with Goat Cheese and Garlic on Simply Recipes Dried Fava Bean and Fresh Fennel Soup on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen Crostini with Fava Beans, Roasted Garlic Creme Fraiche and Mushroom Oil on Local Lemons Oyster and Fava Bean Stew on No Recipes [...]