Forest Fettucine with Morels & Breast of Pheasant

Directions

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 ½ 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.