Instructions: Morels are a true wonder of spring. When foragers start showing up at the restaurant with buckets of these rarities, I know the season officially has begun.

Though morels may be one of the odder-looking items in the produce aisle, I find them quite beautiful. Shaped like a miniature beehive and textured like a sponge, most morels in our local markets have a muddy color and range from the size of a walnut to that of an egg, though they can grow much larger.

These wild mushrooms have never been successfully cultivated, says Todd Spanier, a fungus expert who supplies mushrooms to the Village Pub in Woodside.

As a result, flavorful morels, Spanier says, can be only foraged, not farmed.

In the Bay Area, morels usually come from the Sierra Nevada, where they thrive when the earth has been disturbed - after a fire or deforestation, for example. But morels grow on every continent and show up in cuisines in such far-ranging spots as China, Switzerland and Siberia.

Part of what makes them so special is their fleeting nature. They arrive in May and stick around for just a few months. The short season and the hard work of finding them mean they dont come cheap. Prices can exceed $50 a pound, though youll often find them at $15 to $25. I think theyre worth every penny.

Cooking morels just right is essential. And you must cook them, as they are slightly toxic when eaten raw. The key is to maximize, not mask, this mushrooms rich, earthy flavor and toothsome texture.

I like to show off morels in pasta.

This recipe pairs morels with another
spring favorite, English peas - a combination in which the earthiness of the morel beautifully complements the sweet and sprightly pea. This is not the kind of hearty, robust pasta youd find in an Italian kitchen. This is a more subtle dish in which the pasta gets lightly bathed in olive oil and flavorful cooking juices while the morels, thyme, parsley and lemon lightly perfume the dish. The final step is to shower the pasta with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, which makes the flavors sing.

One of the more mundane, but essential, aspects of using morels is proper cleaning. There is some debate over the best method, but I strongly believe they should be immersed in water. Many mushrooms can be cleaned with just a brush or damp cloth, but this is ineffective with the morel because of its shape and pocked exterior. And nothing ruins a morel dish more quickly than the presence of dirt. Just be certain to allow plenty of time for the mushrooms to dry after washing.

If a pound of fresh morels is too expensive, use a half pound of cremini mushrooms and a half pound of morels. The flavor wont be quite as assertive, but the dish will be a success nevertheless. When fresh morels arent available, dried morels make a fine substitute. Figure on a 10-1 ratio of fresh to dried.

For instance, this recipe calls for a pound of morels, which translates to 1.6 ounces of dried morels. (Be sure to reconstitute the dried mushrooms in boiling water before using them.)

Tinker with this recipe if you like. Crumble a slice or two of crisp pancetta or bacon into the finished dish or stir a few tablespoons of mascarpone into the sauce before you toss it with pasta. You also can use fava beans or asparagus in place of the peas. Or skip the pasta altogether and spoon the cooked morels over slices of roast pork or chicken. Then see what these changes mean in terms of seasoning: Do you need more or less salt if you add the bacon? How might you adjust the lemon if you use mascarpone? Does it make sense to stir the juices from the roasted chicken into the sauce? Remember, your taste buds are your best guide.

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