Filet Mignon with Morel Mushroom Sauce

“For years now, every Spring I forage morel mushrooms,” says Christine Nunn, chef/co-owner of Picnic in Fair Lawn. “Odd looking, impossible to see, unless you are looking. The morel pops up in rotting leaves in woods that are just the right condition. I have a secret spot that I go every year and come back with a nice brown bag filled with them.”

“D’Artagnan has them online, and usually Whole Foods and Wegman’s. It is important to note that readers SHOULD buy them in stores. Foraging mushrooms is a hobby of mine, and I know real morels from “false” ones, which are quite poisonous.”

Four servings

Ingredients:
Four six ounce Filet mignon medallions, room temperature
One cup morel mushrooms (carefully cut each mushroom in half and remove any dirt with a soft slightly damp cloth)
½ T butter
½ nice sized shallot, peeled and finely minced
¼ c good quality sherry
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup good quality beef, chicken or veal stock
3 T heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Heavily salt and pepper the filet and sear each side in a heavy bottomed pan with a oven proof handle
Put pan with filets in a 350 degree oven and cook about five minutes for rare, or eight for medium rare

While the filet cooks…

In a small sauté pan, melt the butter and let it get rather brown in color, add the morels and sear them nicely.

Add the shallots, and pour in the sherry to deglaze the pan

Add the stock and cook for five minutes until it reduces and the morels are soft

Add the cream, reduce the sauce by fifty percent and finish with a little salt and pepper

Pour sauce over well rested filets.

Note:
I love to serve this with a nice roasted potato and asparagus

Happy spring!

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