Morel Goat Cheese Gnudi with Ramps and Morel Sauce

It's time for another recipe challenge by Marx Food.  In celebrating the fresh morel season, Marx Food decided to give out free samples of the dried morels to a few food bloggers to create an original recipe for a friendly competition.  As you may know, I love a good recipe challenge, and recipe testing is one of the reasons why I blog.  I enjoy playing with ingredients to create something delicious.  As a mushroom lover, I couldn't resist to get my hands on these.  I knew I need to compliment these dried morels with some fresh ingredients.  Spring offers many lovely ingredients, and one of my favorites is ramps.  They are delicious raw or cooked.  They pair well with the morels, so I definitely wanted to incorporate them into this recipe.

I originally wanted to stuff the morels with goat cheese, but as you can see the size of the mushrooms made it somewhat difficult.  So I thought to use the goat cheese with the mushrooms to make some gnudi.  Gnudi is basically the filling of a stuffed pasta without the pasta.  It's usually made with fresh ricotta cheese.  It is extremely easy to make.  Every home cook can make this dish without having to break out the pasta maker or break a sweat from kneading the dough.  The result is this pillowy mound of filling that just melt in your mouth.

Morel Goat Cheese Gnudi with Ramps and Morel Sauce - Makes approx. 12 Gnudi
8 oz of plain goat cheese (room temperature)
1 oz of dried morel mushrooms - Reconstitute with 1 1/2 cup of hot water - Diced (reserve water for sauce)
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbs of all-purpose flour
2 tbs panko breadcrumbs
1 sprig of thyme - chopped

Ramps and Morel Sauce
1/4 pound of ramps - chopped (approx. 8 - 10 bulbs with leaves) - separate leaves from bulbs (save a tsp of the leaves for garnish)
1 cup of the mushroom water
1 tbs of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil for sauteing

Reconstitute the dried morels in 1 1/2 cup of hot boiling water.  Let it soak for at least 20 minutes.  Once the mushrooms are plumped up, strain the liquid and reserve for the sauce.  Make the sauce by sauteing the bulbs with a little olive oil until they are tendered and caramelized.  Add the ramp leaves then the mushroom water that is saturated with the morel flavor.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook the liquid down by half until thickens.  Puree the liquid, strain and set aside.

For the filling, saute the morels with a little bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Let the mushrooms sweat out their liquid and cook through (approximately 5-10 minutes) then add thyme.  Once they are done, let it cool.  Combine the morels with goat cheese, egg yolk, Parmesan cheese, flour and breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Mix all the ingredients together, taste then adjust with salt and pepper.  Roll a tablespoon of mixture into a ball similar to the size of a golf ball.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Once the water is boiled, salt the water then add the gnudi one at a time.  When the gnudi float to the top which takes about 2-3 minutes, they are ready.  Heat the sauce then swirl in a tablespoon of cold butter to thicken the sauce.  Add the gnudi to the sauce, garnish with ramp leaves and serve immediately.

I love the morels and goat cheese flavor combination.  The gnudi has a tangy tartness from the goat cheese, and once it melts in your mouth, it leaves you with the smoky, earthy goodness of the morels.  The mushroom water added a depth of umami to the ramps sauce, and I wish everyone could try this sauce.  It is absolutely delicious, and did I mention it is so easy to make?!

Disclaimer:  I did not receive any compensation from Marx Food for this post.  All opinions are my own.

illy Art Collection Cups Giveaway

Photo provided by illy

I can't believe it's been a week since the IACP conference has ended.  It feels like it was just yesterday I was at the conference meeting new people and chatting up with old friends.  I had the opportunity to listen to some impressive panelists talk about food and its industry.  I also attended the culinary expo, book and blog festival.  I learned about tea pairing, animal butchery and cooked up some bacon goodness at the workshops.  Of course there is no shortage of amazing food at a food conference, and so many generous sponsors provided delicious treats.  Other than food, I was fueled by the much-needed caffeine.  It carried me through the hectic schedule of the conference.  I was especially looking forward to my daily visit to the illy's table for their delicious espressos and cappuccinos.  I was thankful that illy was one of the sponsors, and provided the attendees with unlimited amount of delicious coffee to enjoy.

Photo by: Ken Leung aka @HungryRabbitNYC

So when I was asked to do a giveaway on my blog, I responded with an enthusiastic yes!  It may have been the caffeine talking, but I am happy to host a giveaway featuring these beautifully designed illy Art Collection Cups by Michael Lin.

Photos provided by illy

I love the pink flowers.  Aren't they beautiful?!  Each saucer comes with a different flower pattern (above are some of the examples).  This collection of six handle-less cappuccino cups and coordinated saucers is beautifully gift-boxed.  They are also signed and numbered by Michael Lin.  This could make a really nice Mother's Day present too...just saying.  So even if you don't win, you can go to illy's website and purchase these gorgeous cups.

If you're not familiar with the artist, Michael Lin is internationally known for his painted walls and floors reproduced on a large scale traditional floral motifs inspired by Taiwanese textiles.  He is an artist of a new global pop art inspired by daily life, his origins and family.

To enter for your chance to win this giveaway, all you have to do is to like illy's Facebook page then come back to this post, and leave a comment telling me you liked the page so we could keep track of your entry.  Good luck!

Details and disclosure: One entry per person, must be 18 years of age or older.  US/Canadian addresses only.  Must have a valid Facebook account to participate.  No purchase necessary, void where prohibited.  Contest ends Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 11:59pm EST.  Winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced on Wednesday, April 18th via email.  The potential winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Prize provided by illy USA.  I was not compensated for this post, I just love illy coffee.

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