morilles

The timber for the roof arrived this morning - 15 tonnes of it - which took two hours to unload even with the crane. Mini-B turned up to give a hand, with his pockets full of the first morilles (morels) of the season which he'd found in the woods.

Morilles go particularly well with veal and Anthony Bourdain has a great recipe for veal tenderloin with wild mushrooms.

Ingredients

Serves 4
1 x 2 lb/900 g veal tenderloin

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp/14 ml olive oil

3 tbsp/42 g butter

4 oz/112 g fresh wild morels (or porcini)

1 shallot

4 oz/110 ml Madeira

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

4 oz/110 ml dark chicken or veal stock

2 oz/56 ml heavy cream

1 tbsp/14 ml sherry vinegar

1 sprig flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Season the veal. Place a large ovenproof sauté pan over high heat and add the oil. Drop in 14 g of the butter. Let it foam and subside. Sear the veal on all sides until golden brown. Transfer to oven and cook for about 25 minutes.

2. Heat 14 g of butter in small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once it has bubbled and come down again, add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until golden brown. Add the shallot and cook for another minute. Stir in 56 ml of the Madeira. Add sliced garlic and continue to cook until the wine is reduced by half. Set aside.

3. Once the veal has cooked, remove from oven and set aside. Return the pan to the stovetop over medium heat and stir in remaining 56 ml of Madeira. Add cooked mushroom mixture and the stock and bring to the boil. Let the liquid reduce by half, then add the cream. Continue to cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in remaining 14 g of butter and drizzle in the sherry vinegar. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

4. Cut the veal into ¼ inch/1 cm slices, pour the sauce over and garnish with chopped parsley.