Taste and Create:Ma che ti sei mangiato's Morel Risotto Sans Morels

I am optimistic. Case in point, today. We went mushrooming and I knew that we would find one lovely morel. I live in the Great Lake Region, after all, a morel superland. Many people had found morels but a few miles from our friend's land.

My Taste and Create Partner, Rossella, had found morels recently and made a single serving of risotto. Mind you, she lives in that beautiful, blessed land called Italy--and lord knows that there are many more travelogues books about Italy than Cleveland. There were other lovely dishes on her Rosella's site, but the morel risotto just screamed to me. And, this recipe instilled more strength of conviction that my morel was out there waiting.


On Saturday, I ran to the market to purchase organic wild mushrooms--black and yellow cloud mushrooms, but knew that we would not be having these mushrooms in risotto. They would be put to use elsewhere, as my morel was out there.


And, then yesterday, we got all suited up to trek through the drizzles of rain. So, we went back to the land of ramps and looked hard. Along our path, we saw lovely jack in the pulpit, pink trillium and carpet-like swaths of moss. I photographed them half-heartedly, as I knew in my bones our morel was around the next corner. I was prepared to cut my little prize in half to confirm that it had no cotton in its surely hollow interior. As we chatted on our hike, I was considering with which bowl I would use to soak my expensive prize.

And, then finally, as we got to the end of my friend's land, our bag empty, it finally dawned on me--my morel was not out there. Alas....

There were many wonderful recipes at Ma che ti sei Mangiato. Mind you, I took only one course in Italian for Reading Knowledge, and with my dictionary and BabelFish, we read through her site. There was a very nice artichoke and proscuitto pasta too, and I particularly love reading about the dinners she served. If it was melon season, I would have definitely made her risotto with melon. I have bookmarked this one for the future. Finally, loking at our pantry, my husband and I made her lentil soup (which I will post this week), which was from 101 cookbooks, and mushroom risotto using our mushrooms.



The result was excellent, filling and satisfying, and it makes me say, who needs morel mushrooms. (Though, if I should ever come up a morel, I will completely change my tune, mind you.)