Forest Fettucine with Morels and Breast of Pheasant

Yield: 4 servings.

Fettucine:
1/2 oz dried Morel Mushrooms -OR- 2 Tablespoons Morel powder
3/4 cup semolina flour
2 extra-large eggs
2 extra-large egg yolks
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Morel Cream Sauce:
18 dried Morel Mushrooms -OR- fresh, if in season
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons chopped shallots
1+3/4 cups heavy cream
Salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste

Garnish:
24 Fiddlehead ferns -OR- asparagus tips
2 Tablespoons butter

For Pheasant:
2 Pheasant breasts (from 3 lb pheasants) boned, skinned & halved
Salt
White pepper
2 Tablespoons butter

Prepare the fettucine. Clean any soil clinging to the morel stems. Place
the
mushrooms in a spice mill and grind to a fine powder. Combine the powder
with the semolina and all-purpose flours in a food processor and process
briefly to blend. Beat the eggs, egg yolks and oil together and, with the
motor running, add the mixture to the flours. Process until a neat ball
forms on top of the blade, about 45 to 60 seconds. Remove the dough from
the
machine and knead for a minute on a very lightly floured surface. Pat into
a
thick cylinder and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

About 1 hour before serving time, cut the dough across into 6 pieces.
Knead, stretch, and cut each piece in a pasta machine or by hand. Spread
the fettucine on a tray dusted with semolina. Cover with a towel until
cooking time.

Prepare the sauce. Soak the mushrooms in warm water to cover for 5
minutes. (Halve and rinse fresh morels). Drain the mushrooms, halve them
lengthwise and rinse briefly. Cut into small pieces. Heat the butter in a
skillet and add the morels and shallots. Cook over low heat until the
shallots are tender. Add the cream and simmer, stirring often, until the
sauce is lightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt, white
pepper and nutmeg to taste. The sauce can be prepared and gently reheated
just before serving.

Rub any fuzz from the fiddlehead ferns and trim the tails to leave about
1/2 inch. Drop them into boiling salted water and cook until tender, about
5 minutes. Drain well. At serving time, heat them through in the butter.

About 20 minutes before serving time, sprinkle the pheasant breasts
lightly with salt and white pepper and let them sit at room temperature
until you are ready to cook. Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet.
When it foams, add the breasts and brown lightly for about 5 minutes. Turn
and cook over moderately low heat until they are nicely browned and barely
done in the center, about 5 more minutes. Remove them and let them sit for
5 minutes. Drop the noodles into a large quantity of boiling salted water.
Return to a boil, stirring. Cook about 1 minute, just until tender. Drain
them thoroughly and toss with three-quarters of the sauce. Arrange the
fettucine on 4 serving plates. Slice each pheasant breast in 6 vertical
slices and fan over the pasta. Top with the remaining sauce and surround
with the fiddlehead ferns.




Mushroom-Recipes:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mushroom-Recipes/



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