5 Ingredients or Fewer

Oven-Roasted Fiddleheads with Capers and Lemon

June 11, 2014
3
1 Ratings
  • Serves 2
Author Notes

A little spring confession? I don't really care that much about asparagus. Scandalous, I know. It's not that I don't enjoy the taste, and I've been know to buy a bunch here and there, it's just that I don't get wrapped up in the yearly asparagus mania that seems to afflict most everyone around me. I used to care more, I really did, but somewhere along the way the infatuation more or less wore off. Instead, I reserve my spring hysteria for two food items- radishes and fiddleheads. OMG fiddleheads. Those magical furled fern fronds (alliterative food is the best food) that are only available for an ever-so-short spring window- they're totally worth getting frenzied over.
Slow Club Cookery

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups fiddleheads
  • 3 tablespoons capers
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1-2 thin lemon slices
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Wash fiddleheads thoroughly, in at least 2-3 changes of water. Trim away any brown, woody ends of fiddlehead stems.
  3. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and blanch fiddleheads for 5 minutes. Drain and plunge into an ice water bath to stop cooking.
  4. Drain thoroughly and toss with lemon juice, olive oil, capers, salt and lemon slices.
  5. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 8-12 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp around the edges.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

mellanella May 9, 2023
Way too much lemon flavor. I'd reduce it next time.

Not great as a stand alone dish, but works well served over pasta with some shrimp.