Recipe: Smoked Bacon with Morels

1 Take a good kilogram of your harvest, the prettiest ones!

2 Clean them carefully. A knife, a stiff brush and a damp cloth are usually enough. You picked them cleanly on purpose to avoid having to wash them. Rinse under a trickle of water any that are still earthy despite your care.

3 Cut them in half to remove any unwanted guests. It's not uncommon for woodlice, slugs and other centipedes or myriapods to have taken up residence in your mushroom.

4 Cut the largest morels into pieces.

5 The rind of your bacon would harden too much in the pan, so remove it, just the skin, not the fat. But of course, keep this rind well wrapped in your butcher's paper, just in case you have some beans to cook, some lentils, or even some broth to enrich.

6 Put a spoonful of olive oil in a pan and brown your bacon in it. When you feel it becoming crispy, remove it and keep it warm, covered, on the side of the stove.

7 Remove the excess bacon fat from your pan. Then melt your finely sliced onion or shallot in it, whichever you prefer!

8 When your onion has melted enough, add your morels, cover and turn the heat up high for five minutes to release their water.

9 Season with salt and pepper in this liquid, moderately because of the reduction.

10 Add your two glasses of dry white wine, bring back to the boil, then lower the heat and cook covered for about ten minutes, watching the reduction. Remember that morels are toxic when raw. For this reason, they must be well cooked. The gentle boiling reduction keeps you well away from any risk.

11 When only a spoonful of liquid remains, add the crème fraîche. Bring back to the boil, then lower the heat and let reduce, uncovered.

12 Push this reduction really to excess.

13 When you have almost no cream left, add two tablespoons of water, then immediately the knob of butter. Stir your mushrooms well in this mixture for a final glazing.

14 Your morels are now rich, plump and glossy as desired, they have their natural colour and appear almost scalloped with blonde cream!

15 Check your seasoning, thinking more pepper than salt.

16 Combine the bacon and morels in the pan and turn them together for a moment to blend their flavours. Scatter with a pinch of very finely chopped parsley for a touch of colour.

17 That's it!