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The rarest of the wild mushrooms, because they cannot be cultivated and grow only in the wild, are morels. Identified by their conical caps, they are hard to find in stores except in early May. In dried form, reconstituted in cream, they still have an intense, earthy taste.

Any fresh mushrooms can be refrigerated for a day or two, loosely wrapped to help hold in moisture. They shouldn’t be washed, and never soaked, because they will absorb the water instead of the intended liquids or fats when cooking. Instead, they should be wiped clean with a damp paper towel or soft brush.

EN-CAS

In France, an en-cas is a snack or light meal. The word means, literally, “in case,” and in the châteaus of the ancien régime, some cold food was usually laid out on a small table for those returning late. King Louis XIV’s en-cas at Versailles was bread, two bottles of wine, and a carafe of water for the night.

BLINI

The word “buckwheat” sounds American, though the plant originated in Asia in the remote past and still grows wild there. The name actually comes from the Dutch boeke, “beech,” and weite, “wheat,” probably because the seeds look like small beechnuts. Buckwheat is not really wheat, but is of the same family as rhubarb. It grows faster in colder climates and poorer soil and is said to be good for high blood pressure and is not good for making bread. The famed Japanese noodles, soba, are made from it, as are the small pancakes—delicious with sour cream and caviar or smoked salmon—called blini.

“Blini” is Russian, the plural of blin, which is “a small pancake.” In Russia in the old days, blini and vodka were served at funerals, and some of both were cast into the grave, as a farewell to the things of this earth or perhaps as provisions for the voyage ahead.

Blini are perfect for a late breakfast or for lunch or, made smaller, as hors d’oeuvres, adapted from the recipe used by the Russian Tea Room restaurant before it closed.

BLINI

1 cup warm water

1 (¼ ounce) package active dry yeast

Pinch of sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring

1 cup buckwheat flour, sifted before measuring

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk, heated to warm

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Sour cream to taste

Caviar to taste

Stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl and let stand for about five minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, start over with fresh yeast.

Add the all-purpose and buckwheat flours and salt, then stir in the milk, three tablespoons of the butter, and the eggs. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a pan filled with an inch of warm water. Let the mixture rise in a warm place for about one to two hours until it increases in volume, has bubbles breaking the surface, and is stringy when scooped.

The batter can be made up to three days in advance and chilled, covered, at this point. If necessary, thin the batter with a few teaspoons of milk before using.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Heat a large nonstick frying pan over moderately high heat until hot and brush with some of the remaining melted butter. Don’t let the butter brown. Stir the batter. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of batter into the skillet for each blin, or a tablespoon for larger blini. Cook, turning once, until both sides are golden brown, about two minutes. Keep warm in the oven until all are made.

Serve topped with a little sour cream and caviar. Makes two or three dozen blini.

A salmon filling can be rolled up in larger blini:

SALMON FILLING

2 minced onions

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup white wine

1 pound smoked salmon, cut into irregular pieces

Melted butter

Lightly brown the onions in the butter. Add the wine and smoked salmon, and simmer lightly for about an hour. Put about two tablespoons of this mixture onto one edge of the warm blini, roll up, set in a shallow baking dish, cover with aluminum