Springtime is a miracle. After the long cold winter, beautiful plants appear everywhere. The local garden centers are buzzing. Everyone is anxious to get their flowers and vegetable plants started. We all anticipate the harvest of fresh vegetables to include on our dinner tables.
Families are visiting parks and taking nature walks. Most of us have never realized that right under our feet may be the first green vegetable of early spring, the fiddlehead.
This delicacy is around for only a few weeks, and is usually gathered by foragers. This helps add to their mystique.
Fiddleheads take their name from the scroll on a violin. They are the heads of the ostrich fern in its early stages of life.
Fiddlehead ferns grow wild from the northeastern United States to Newfoundland and west through Michigan and into Wisconsin. Maine and Vermont have some of the largest commercial crops because of the cool weather and undeveloped land. Cool spring weather slowly brings to life the wild fiddlehead fern.
Fiddlehead ferns gathered from the wild offer the best flavor. They taste like a mixture of asparagus, artichokes and green beans with a woodsy mushroom background flavor. At this stage, when only a few centimeters long, they're delicious. Once they unfurl, say goodbye to the fiddlehead as vegetable: the fern is no longer edible.
They are high in vitamins A and C and contain a lot of fiber.
Select fresh fiddleheads that are bright green, firm and with tight heads about 1-inch in diameter. The best heads have the smallest tails. Some heads may have a brown paper-like coating, which is the crown material that the ferns break out of. This material may reflect that they were picked as they emerged. Check to make sure it is easy to remove.
Fiddleheads are best when very fresh, so use them as soon as you get them. Most of the greens sold commercially, as fiddleheads are immature ostrich ferns, which are safe to eat.
However, if wild-gathered, care should be taken to ensure that the fiddleheads are in fact ostrich ferns.
Other ferns may not be edible. If you are gathering fiddleheads, they must be broken off with the flick of the wrist and never cut, as cutting prevents the plant from regenerating.
Here are two recipes. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Fiddlehead-Portobello Linguine
1 pound fiddleheads, cleaned and trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
1 large Portobello mushroom cap
6 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
Half a box of linguine
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the mushrooms, onions and sun-dried tomatoes into long strips and set aside.
Saute the ferns and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the onions and saute until they start to wilt. Add the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.
Continue to saute for another 5 minutes or so.
Season with salt and pepper, toss in the pine nuts, add a splash of water, reduce heat and cover.
Let sweat for about 10 minutes (or so).
During this have the linguine begin to cook so that it is ready when the topping is ready.
In a pasta bowl, add the vegetables to the linguine, sprinkle on the cheese and toss.
Serve immediately.
Fiddleheads with Brown Butter and Prosciutto
Makes 6 servings
Kosher salt
2 pounds fiddlehead ferns, cleaned and trimmed
24 paper-thin slices prosciutto
6 tablespoons brown butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large pot bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Fill a medium bowl halfway with ice water. Drop the fiddleheads into the pot and cook for 1 minute. Drain the fiddleheads in a colander, then submerge in the ice water until completely cool. Let the fiddleheads drain well in a colander and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel to dry.
Arrange two slices of prosciutto on each of six room temperature plates.
Put the brown butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the fiddleheads and toss gently, adding 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Heat for a minute or two until they are warm, then divide the fiddleheads among the six plates. Serve at once.
Note: After a fiddlehead is removed from the stalk, the cut end starts to turn brown. Be sure to trim back the stem (about 1/4 inch) to the healthy green section before cooking.
This delicacy is around for only a few weeks, and is usually gathered by foragers. This helps add to their mystique.
Fiddleheads take their name from the scroll on a violin. They are the heads of the ostrich fern in its early stages of life.
Fiddlehead ferns grow wild from the northeastern United States to Newfoundland and west through Michigan and into Wisconsin. Maine and Vermont have some of the largest commercial crops because of the cool weather and undeveloped land. Cool spring weather slowly brings to life the wild fiddlehead fern.
Fiddlehead ferns gathered from the wild offer the best flavor. They taste like a mixture of asparagus, artichokes and green beans with a woodsy mushroom background flavor. At this stage, when only a few centimeters long, they're delicious. Once they unfurl, say goodbye to the fiddlehead as vegetable: the fern is no longer edible.
They are high in vitamins A and C and contain a lot of fiber.
Select fresh fiddleheads that are bright green, firm and with tight heads about 1-inch in diameter. The best heads have the smallest tails. Some heads may have a brown paper-like coating, which is the crown material that the ferns break out of. This material may reflect that they were picked as they emerged. Check to make sure it is easy to remove.
Fiddleheads are best when very fresh, so use them as soon as you get them. Most of the greens sold commercially, as fiddleheads are immature ostrich ferns, which are safe to eat.
However, if wild-gathered, care should be taken to ensure that the fiddleheads are in fact ostrich ferns.
Other ferns may not be edible. If you are gathering fiddleheads, they must be broken off with the flick of the wrist and never cut, as cutting prevents the plant from regenerating.
Here are two recipes. Enjoy.
This column has been a collaborative effort between Auburn natives chef Max Hitchcock and his mother, Susan Silverman. They can be reached at Birdscapes@adelphia.net
Fiddlehead-Portobello Linguine
1 pound fiddleheads, cleaned and trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
1 large Portobello mushroom cap
6 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
Half a box of linguine
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the mushrooms, onions and sun-dried tomatoes into long strips and set aside.
Saute the ferns and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the onions and saute until they start to wilt. Add the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.
Continue to saute for another 5 minutes or so.
Season with salt and pepper, toss in the pine nuts, add a splash of water, reduce heat and cover.
Let sweat for about 10 minutes (or so).
During this have the linguine begin to cook so that it is ready when the topping is ready.
In a pasta bowl, add the vegetables to the linguine, sprinkle on the cheese and toss.
Serve immediately.
Fiddleheads with Brown Butter and Prosciutto
Makes 6 servings
Kosher salt
2 pounds fiddlehead ferns, cleaned and trimmed
24 paper-thin slices prosciutto
6 tablespoons brown butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large pot bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Fill a medium bowl halfway with ice water. Drop the fiddleheads into the pot and cook for 1 minute. Drain the fiddleheads in a colander, then submerge in the ice water until completely cool. Let the fiddleheads drain well in a colander and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel to dry.
Arrange two slices of prosciutto on each of six room temperature plates.
Put the brown butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the fiddleheads and toss gently, adding 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Heat for a minute or two until they are warm, then divide the fiddleheads among the six plates. Serve at once.
Note: After a fiddlehead is removed from the stalk, the cut end starts to turn brown. Be sure to trim back the stem (about 1/4 inch) to the healthy green section before cooking.
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