Meze & olive-oil dishesMains Turkish
Stuffed morels (kuzugöbeği dolması)
Hollow morels filled with a Turkish olive-oil dolma rice of pine nuts, currants and herbs, then braised; serve warm or at room temperature.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Morels are hollow from top to bottom, which makes them perfect for stuffing. Here we fill large dried morels with the classic Turkish olive-oil dolma filling of rice, pine nuts, currants and herbs; in Turkey the dish is called kuzugöbeği dolması. The morels' nutty, faintly smoky flavour seeps into the rice as it cooks.
Important: raw morels contain a gut irritant, so they must never be eaten raw or undercooked; always cook them thoroughly. They're a wild mushroom with poisonous look-alikes, so only use morels from a trusted seller or identified by an expert. The poisonous false morel is chambered inside, not hollow.
Ingredients
Tick them off as you go.
For the morels
For the filling
To cook
Method
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-
Cover the dried morels with the warm water and leave for 30 minutes until soft and plump. Lift them out, squeezing gently, then strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or muslin and discard the grit at the bottom. Skip this step for fresh morels.
~30 min -
Trim the stalk ends and look inside each morel: a true morel is hollow from top to bottom. Rinse out any sand or insects in cold water. If one isn't completely hollow, or is chambered or cottony inside, don't use it: it could be a poisonous false morel.
~5 min -
For the filling, heat the olive oil in a wide pan and cook the onion until soft and just colouring. Add the pine nuts and toast lightly, then stir in the rice and cook for 2–3 minutes.
~8 min -
Stir in the currants, salt, mint, pepper, allspice and sugar. Add the hot water, cover and simmer gently for 6–7 minutes until the rice has absorbed the water but is still firm. Take off the heat, stir in the dill and leave to cool slightly.
~10 min -
Fill each morel through the opening at the stalk end using a teaspoon or a piping bag with the tip snipped off. Leave the top quarter empty, as the rice swells as it cooks. Pack the morels snugly side by side in a wide, shallow pan.
~15 min -
Drizzle with the olive oil and pour in enough soaking liquid to come halfway up the morels. Weigh them down with an upturned plate, cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 30–35 minutes. Morels must never be eaten raw or undercooked, as they cause stomach upsets, so don't take them off the heat until both the mushrooms and the rice are completely tender.
~35 min -
Leave to cool in the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges, as you would any olive-oil dolma.
~2 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
Large button mushrooms Agaricus bisporusRemove the stalks and fill the caps; cooking time drops to 20 minutes.
Shiitake Lentinula edodesSoak large dried caps and fill them gill side up.
Tips
- Save the largest morels for stuffing; chop the small or torn ones into the filling, where they cook through too.
- Don't fill them to the top: the rice swells and will split the morels.
- The soaking liquid is full of flavour, so use it for braising, leaving the grit behind.
- Always cook morels thoroughly; never eat them raw or undercooked, not even to taste.
Storage
Keep the cooked dolma in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days; like any olive-oil dolma it is good cold too. Don't keep soaked, uncooked morels: cook them the same day. Dried morels keep for months in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Stuffed morels take?
It takes 1 hr 20 min in total: 45 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking.
Which mushroom is used for Stuffed morels?
This recipe uses Morel.
What other mushrooms work for Stuffed morels?
Large button mushrooms: Remove the stalks and fill the caps; cooking time drops to 20 minutes. Shiitake: Soak large dried caps and fill them gill side up.
How do you store Stuffed morels?
Keep the cooked dolma in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days; like any olive-oil dolma it is good cold too. Don't keep soaked, uncooked morels: cook them the same day. Dried morels keep for months in an airtight jar in a cool, dry place.
What should you watch for when making Stuffed morels?
Save the largest morels for stuffing; chop the small or torn ones into the filling, where they cook through too. Don't fill them to the top: the rice swells and will split the morels.
How many does Stuffed morels serve?
The quantities serve 4; change the number of servings on the page and the ingredients adjust.
Source: Filling adapted from: yemek.com — Dolma İçi; morel preparation and safety: sources on our morel species page
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Kitchen guides
Before you cook: clean, store, dry
How to clean mushroomsPractical ways to clean everything from button mushrooms to morels without waterlogging them or ruining their texture.
How to store mushroomsHow to keep fresh, cooked, frozen and dried mushrooms at their best — and how to tell when they’ve gone bad.
How to dry mushroomsA step-by-step guide to drying mushrooms at home in the oven, in a dehydrator or on a string — and how to store and rehydrate them.