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Published on 5/16/08
Published at 4:48pm
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A season of snow has its perks when chefs end up with bounds of morel mushrooms at their kitchen doorsteps. For Sepia chef Kendal Duque, the arrival of the honeycomb-shaped morels signals the beginning of spring and an escape from root vegetables. So he tosses them with brown butter and shallots and throws them in his thyme-marinated roasted rabbit. The dish is sauced with a ginger-shallot-thyme-white-wine reduction and finished with another of spring’s early risers: pea tendrils. (123 N Jefferson St between Washington Blvd and Randolph St, 312-441-1920.)
Once morels became available, Landmark’s Benjamin Browning was intent on “littering the menu” with them. He serves the mushrooms tossed with a little butter and parsley; in a scallops-and-gnocchi dish; and filled them with rabbit mousse. But we’re most excited by his morel frites, which he pairs with green-goddess dipping sauce. Once the season moves forward, Browning switches his vehicle for the frites to blond morels, which are “much larger and have a more delicate flavor.” (1633 N Halsted St between North Ave and Willow St, 312-587-1600.)
Morel season is easy to get used to for chef Martial Noguier, whose native France treasures the rare mushrooms as a cornerstone of its cuisine. At his restaurant one sixtyblue , Noguier pairs morels with fish, lending meaty depth to traditional seafood preparations. Alaskan halibut is seared and paired with morels, Maine lobster, green garlic and marjoram. Tacking on a farmers’ market find like green garlic is just another hint that spring is here. (1400 W Randolph St between Ada St and Ogden Ave, 312-850-0313.)
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