Grass-fed flap steak filled with a mixture of ramps and morels which were gently sauteed with butter, sea salt and cracked black pepper.  Finished with a sauce that was made by deglazing the roasting pan with red wine and additional morels.

A couple weeks ago, after a few twitter sessions, I had the pleasure of meeting David of Earthy Delights over the phone.  He was a “delight” to talk to as we both share the same philosophy about food – it should be simple, using the best ingredients and it should be GOOD!  He asked if we would be interested in trying some of his products, why, HELLO … But, of course we would!  I mean have you seen what he sells;  everything from honeys to fresh wild morels.  I was pretty excited after we ended our conversation and I hung up the phone.

Wednesday it was Christmas at Chez Us.  I came home to find the best package that only a “foodie” could love.  It was bursting at the seams with fresh morels, ramps, the famed Black Garlic that everyone is a twitter about, an assortment of dried mushrooms, olive oil from Italy, an avocado oil, balsamic cream, a lime juice and two Earthy Delight t-shirts.  I was grinning ear to ear and my mind was racing with ideas of how we would be consuming all of this joy!  This was definitely the best package we have received in a very long time!!

The first dish we created was using some of the very fresh and fragrant morels as well as the ramps.  Neither of us have never eaten ramps, so I was pretty excited to cook with them – I loved their slightly green and garlicky scent.  As well I have eaten morels a few times, mostly in Europe, this was the first time I worked with them.  Morels are NOT your ordinary mushrooms – they are meaty and earthy and very flavorful.  I found their texture interesting as they were rather woody when I started out.  I did enjoy their mossy and earthy scent.  I did not want this dish to be overwhelming with other ingredients – I wanted these *stars* to shine.  This particular dish was just perfect.  The combination of the ramps and the earthy morels went very well with the beef and red wine.  To continue with keeping the meal simple as to not take away from the star ingredients, I served a lightly sauteed zucchini which I sprinkled some truffle sea salt on.  The entire meal was elegant but not stuffy …. just good home cooking!

I bet you cannot wait to see what else we have planned for the rest of the bounty!

Recipe: Flap Steak with Morels & Ramps and a red wine demi glaze

*serves 4

1 lb flap steak

1 lb morels, quartered

1 bunch ramps, minced -  I used all the whites & 1/4 of the greens

2 tablespoons butter

sea salt, pinch

fresh cracked pepper

1/4 cup good red wine

Cover morels with cold, slightly salted water, to clean out any pests and let sit for about 15 minutes.  Drain well.  Melt butter and add ramps.  Cook until slightly soft, about 3 minutes.  Stir in morels, sprinkle with some salt and cook for about 20 minutes. Strain and reserve buttery liquid.  Set aside.

Lay steak out on cutting board, put 3/4 of the morel mixture towards an end and roll into a tight log.  Reserve the 1/4 cup of morels for the sauce.  Heat an oven proof pan with a 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Sear the meat on both sides.  Transfer to oven and let cook for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on how you like your beef cooked.   Remove from oven and transfer meat to a plate.  Heat the juices with the left over morel liquid.  Add the red wine and cook for about 10 minutes over medium heat, until reduced and slightly thick, add the morels.  To serve, cut portions of the meat and drizzle the red wine and morel sauce over the top.