Morel Risotto
Mountain Fungi and a Valley Grain
Once, a morel appeared next to our driveway, just one, just once and never again. (It was good, sautéed in butter.) Close by, bumper crops of pheasant-back mushrooms appear on box elder stumps; we eat them, but they’re not special. I used to assume that I would become a mushroomer — I started to learn — but I’ve never found enough time. For morels this spring, I turned to Nova Kim and Les Hook, who live not too far away and are famously expert in wild foods, which they gather and sell primarily to restaurants. A large part of what they do is education. They harvest no more than nature can afford to give; the most important thing they teach is a profound respect for nature.