Leipziger Allerlei – vegetables with morels and crayfish

Pour 250 g lukewarm water over the morels in a small bowl and leave for 30 minutes. This liquid is only for soaking and is not part of the 350 g water weighed for the dish. Lift out the soaked mushrooms, discard the water, then rinse the morels thoroughly to remove sand and drain. Cut larger ones lengthwise to check inside. Keep all the cleaned mushrooms; they will be cooked separately later.

Cut the carrots and kohlrabi into small batons, divide the cauliflower into small florets and cut the peeled asparagus into pieces about 3 cm long. Finely chop the parsley. Weigh out all the butter, water and salt according to the allocations in the ingredients; the 30 g butter for the dumplings should be soft. Keep the crayfish tails in the refrigerator. Prepare a pot for the vegetables, a small saucepan for the morels and a pot with 2 liters unsalted water for the dumplings. Their cooking water will be discarded.

Separate both eggs, keeping all the yolks and whites. Cream the softened 30 g butter with the yolks, all the nutmeg and 1 g salt. Beat the whites to soft peaks. Add all the breadcrumbs to the butter with a spoonful of the whipped whites first, then gently fold in the rest. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes so the crumbs can swell. Meanwhile, start cooking the vegetables and morels as described below; cook these components in parallel.

Using two teaspoons, shape all the mixture into about 16 small dumplings, roughly 2.5–3 cm across. Carefully lower them into gently simmering unsalted water, leaving plenty of room in the pot. Cook over low heat for about 8–10 minutes from the return to a gentle simmer, until firm and cooked inside; floating alone does not mark the end of cooking. Lift onto a plate with a slotted spoon and discard the water. You can cook them at the same time as the vegetables and morels.

Pour 200 g weighed water into a pot and add the carrots, kohlrabi and remaining 5 g salt. Cover and cook gently for 6–8 minutes. Add the cauliflower and asparagus and cook covered for about 5–6 minutes more. Add the frozen peas and heat for another 3 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape. If needed, cook longer over low heat with the lid on. Lift the vegetables into a bowl with a slotted spoon. Keep all the liquid in the pot and any juices in the bowl for the sauce.

Place the drained morels in a saucepan with 20 g butter and a fresh portion of 150 g weighed water. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook over low heat for at least 20 minutes from the return to a simmer. Maintain gentle cooking with the lid on so the liquid does not boil dry. Do not replace this stage with a brief sauté. Keep all the mushrooms and all the liquid from this second cooking; they will go into the sauce.

Melt the remaining 30 g butter in a large, deep skillet. Add all the 20 g flour and stir for about a minute without browning the roux. Gradually pour in all the reserved vegetable and morel cooking liquid, whisking out any lumps. Leave the mushrooms in their saucepan for now. Add all the white pepper and simmer the sauce gently for about 4–5 minutes, stirring, until smooth and slightly thickened. Use the juices from the bowl of vegetables too.

Add all the cooked crayfish tails to the sauce. Heat over low heat for about 3–4 minutes, stirring gently, until hot. You are using ready-cooked meat without shells or packing liquid, so do not add raw crayfish or any liquid from the package. Do not let the sauce boil vigorously.

Add all the cooked vegetables, morels and dumplings to the skillet. Use a wide spatula or two spoons to gently distribute the sauce among the ingredients without crushing the vegetables or dumplings. Heat briefly over low heat until everything is hot. If the skillet is too small, combine the ingredients in a wide pot; keep all the sauce and all the prepared components.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in all the chopped parsley. Divide the dish into four portions, giving each vegetables, morels, crayfish tails and dumplings. Scrape out the sauce remaining in the pan and spoon it over the portions. Serve immediately, without additional ingredients.