This recipe is a welcome alternative to cream-based mushroom pasta. The white wine, chicken stock, butter, and cheese all come together to form a beautiful sauce. The original recipe calls for ramps, but I replace them here with leeks because they are easier to find. Adapted from Forager Chef.

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh morels, cleaned (see note at end) and cut into 2″ pieces
• 8 oz dried spaghetti
• 2 T olive or other cooking oil
• 2 leeks, trimmed, cleaned, and thinly sliced
• 6 T unsalted butter
• A couple of anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 c dry white wine
• 1 c chicken or other stock
• 6–8 T grated parmesan, plus more to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat without oil.
3. Add morels to pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they have given off their water and are starting to brown.
4. Remove from pan and set aside.
5. Heat 2 T cooking oil in the same pan over medium heat.
6. Add leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until they are just beginning to soften.
7. Add anchovies and morels, along with another T or so of cooking oil, and cook until the morels are nicely browned.
8. When the morels are done cooking, deglaze with wine and cook down by half.
9. Add stock and cook down by half.
10. While the wine and stock are cooking down, cook pasta according to package instructions until very al dente.
11. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain and toss pasta with a bit of oil to prevent sticking.
12. Add pasta to the pan with morels, along with butter and crushed red pepper flakes.
13. Turn heat to medium and reduce liquid to concentrate sauce, turning pasta with tongs to coat and allowing butter to melt, adding a splash of pasta water if pan gets dry.
14. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then toss with parmesan.

How to clean fresh morels

Bugs love morels. And morels are also toxic when eaten raw. Taken together, morels need a bit more prep than other mushrooms. Here’s what to do:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Remove any remaining dirt from stems.
3. Place morels in a large bowl of heavily salted water. Leave to soak for 10ish minutes.
4. Scoop morels out of water and place in a colander.
5. Pour water (and bugs!) down the drain.
6. Rinse morels in fresh water to remove any extra debris or bugs.
7. Add rinsed morels to boiling water and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Drain in a colander and pat dry.