Have you ever eaten fiddleheads before? Before I noticed them in my local store here in Toronto my first spring here in Canada, I didn’t even know what they were. Since then I have had a lovely relationship with fiddleheads.
This year I was supposed to visit Nor Cliff farm and harvest them in the wild, but fiddleheads do not wait around for when it is convenient. When they emerge from the soil they have to be picked right away or they will quickly unfurl into a fern.
Why do I love them so much?
1.)Fiddleheads look funny, green and like a spiral and they look like a fiddle.
2.)Fiddleheads taste like something between spinach, asparagus and broccoli
3.)Fiddleheads are considered to be a “super food”
4.)Fiddleheads are wild harvested
How to cook them? Rinse several times in cold water, and cut away the dark ends. Boil for 10 minutes in water before you are using them in dishes or sauting.
I often use them as I would use asparagus.
For our picnic today I’m doing pasta with fiddleheads it can also be served cold as a salad.
You need:
160 gr ham
400 gr pasta
50 gr Leeks
50 gr butter
400 gr of fiddleheads (substitute with asparagus, or asparagus beans)
Parmesan
Salt
Pepper
Rinse fiddleheads and cut off dark ends. Boil for 10 minutes.
Put pasta in boiling water and prepare pasta al dente.
In another pan add butter, boiled fiddleheads, leeks and ham and saute for 5 minutes
Serve with shredded Parmesan on the top!
Thanks to Nor Cliff farm for providing information and photos.
Next year I hope to take you with me for harvesting fiddleheads in the wild.
More recipes :
Here is the recording of the webinar: Get Outdoors:
Connecting Food, Nature and Play
