In early April, there's a fungus among us, but only for a short growing season.

"I made a morel gelato once – with chocolate, which goes to show you that morels are versatile enough to go with just about anything."

This is how Matt Selby, the no-holds-barred experimentalist and executive chef of Denver's Vesta Dipping Grill and Steuben's, welcomes the rite of spring.

"Morels are perfect for spring because they have a natural smokiness and woodiness that's reminiscent of the cold weather that we're finally leaving behind," says Selby. "They're compatible with savory ingredients like bacon and even sweet foods like peaches and figs, but they're so flavorful that you really don't need to do a whole lot to them."

Brittle in texture, fragile and shaped like honeycombs or seductive food porn (depending upon your vantage point), these hollow, fibrous-stemmed wild fungi, composed of ridges, pits and crevasses, grow in the lower flatlands and high mountains of Colorado and typically fruit in early April. Hunted and gathered by competitive foragers, morels are coveted by chefs for their natural earthiness and short growing season.

There are a near infinite variety of morels: Yellow, White, Black and Common are just a handful of what's available at local food and farmers' markets.

So as not to invoke fury in the morel gods, Selby all but insists you leave the mushrooms whole – unless they're larger than your shoe size.

Shop the Crop:
Morels make their first appearance in early April, and while their growing season is just a few weeks long, you can find them throughout the spring and early summer months here:

Boulder County Farmers Market
• When: Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., April-November and Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m., May-October
• Where: Next to Central Park on 13th Street, between Canyon and Arapahoe; 303.910.2236 or www.boulderfarmers.org

Cherry Creek Farmers Market
• When: Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., May-October
• Where: 2500 E. First Ave., Bed, Bath & Beyond parking lot; 303.449.1982

Marczyk Fine Foods
• When: Open daily
• Where: 770 E. 17th Ave., 303.894.9499 or www.marczykfinefoods.com

Old South Pearl Street Farmers Market
• When: Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., June-October
• Where: 1500 block of Old South Pearl Street, between Florida and Iowa; http://www.oldsouthpearlstreet.com/fm_1.htm

Morels on the menu:

Chef: Goose Sorensen
Restaurant: Solera
Morel Mushroom Soup with Smoked Bacon and
Sour Cream
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients
1 lb. morel mushrooms, rinsed and dislodged of dirt
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small bunch celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
6 oz. bacon, cut into strips
1 cup sweet sherry wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
½ gallon vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Place bacon strips in a soup pot over low heat, turning the bacon until both sides are crisp.
2. Remove the bacon and set on a paper towel.
3. To the soup pot, add the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots and sauté the vegetables until they just begin to brown
4. Add mushrooms and sauté until tender.
5. Add the sweet sherry wine, thyme, bay leaves, vegetable or chicken stock and cream and simmer the mixture over medium heat for five minutes.
6. Puree soup in a blender on high speed until mixture is smooth.
7. Pass soup through a fine sieve, discarding solids, and place the mixture back into the soup pot.
8. Bring the pot to a simmer and season with salt and pepper.
9. Whip the sour cream in a mixer until smooth (the sour cream can be flavored with truffle oil, bacon fat, or chives).
10. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream and equal strips of bacon.

Chef: Matt Selby
Restaurants: Vesta Dipping Grill, Steuben's
Roasted Morel Explorateur Tart
Servings: 4-6

Notes: Find Explorateur cheese, a French triple cream cheese, at The Truffle. Alternative cheeses, like Pierre Robert and Brillat-Savarin, also can be used.

For the Tart Shell
1 cup flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 ¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. truffle oil
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp. Extra Virgin olive oil

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Blend together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and black pepper in a pastry blender or pulse in a food processor.
3. Add butter and blend until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Add truffle oil and blend until the mixture is softened and all ingredients are incorporated.
5. With food processor still running, slowly pour in cream.
6. Mix until the dough becomes a ball, adding more flour if necessary. (Do not overwork mixture, or pastry dough will be tough).
7. Transfer dough to a floured surface and lightly knead dough into a mass.
8. Roll out dough with a floured rolling pin into a thin sheet, about 1/16th-inch thick.
9. Place dough on a cookie sheet covered with a silpat (nonstick silicone baking mat).
10. Using a fork, score the dough.
11. Bake dough for 15 minutes, turning the cookie tray every five minutes.
12. Remove tart shell from oven and drizzle entire surface with olive oil

For the Tart
1 lb. morel mushrooms, rinsed and dislodged of dirt (Slice only the larger morels. Leave the smaller ones whole.)
1 shallot, peeled and julienned
3 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered
1 tsp. fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
1 tbsp. Extra Virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 oz. Explorateur cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees
2. Combine morels, shallots, garlic, oregano and thyme in a large mixing bowl.
3. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Place mushroom mixture onto a baking sheet and roast for 30-35 minutes until mushrooms shrink to half their original size.
5. Evenly spread mushrooms over cooked tart shell and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
6. Slide tart shell back onto a baking sheet and bake at 500 degrees for an additional 10-15 minutes, turning the tray once.
7. Crumble the Explorateur cheese over the top of the tart.
8. Immediately refrigerate tart until it has set.
9. Before serving, bring tart to room temperature.