Spring

Foraged Fiddleheads

May  9, 2011
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 3
Author Notes

If you have fiddleheads in your area, and feel comfortable foraging, or know of a good pickup truck to get them, I highly recommend it. They have a light vegetal flavor, almost like asparagus. And go very well with other spring dishes.
KaffeeAndKuchen

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Ingredients
  • 1 pound fiddleheads
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Wash the fiddleheads thoroughly, and remove any brown “gills” that are wrapped around them. Blanch the fiddleheads in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Then place them in an ice water bath to keep their color. Drain.
  2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and sauté garlic and crushed red pepper for about a minute. Add fiddleheads, with whatever water is still clinging to them. Toss fiddleheads to coat with the oil mixture. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until the fiddleheads are cooked through but not soft. Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

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1 Review

hardlikearmour May 9, 2011
I love the elegant simplicity of this. I have a native bed in my yard that contains several species of fern, including Lady ferns which have edible fiddleheads. I'm still trying to get the bed established, but maybe in a year or two I'll be ready to harvest!