These bright green fronds lend themselves to many of the same uses as asparagus. Here they shine with a simple dressing of butter and lemon juice.
Ingredients:
24 freshly-picked fiddlehead fern fronds
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Remove the dry, sheath-like papery particles from the fiddleheads. Fill a medium bowl with cool water; add 1 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice. Add ferns, and push them down into the water several times to clean them. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
2. On a steamer rack set over an inch of water in a saucepan, steam fiddleheads, covered, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add fiddleheads, and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
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This week’s delivery celebrates the season’s freshest—and greenest!—offerings, from a savory gratin packed with broccoli, mushrooms and spring onions to foraged fiddleheads and spring ramps, plus salad greens that run the gamut from peppery arugula to ultra baby lettuces. Complemented by imported baby artichoke hearts and housemade chicken stock, plus pumpernickel bread, farm-fresh eggs and a smooth New Zealand chardonnay, this weeknight-friendly menu is bursting with bright flavor.
Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:
Greens with Hot Garlic Dressing
Fragrant garlic adds a bright, flavorful finish to fresh spring greens in this easy recipe.
Wild Ramp Lemon Risotto with Mushrooms
This bright risotto showcases beautiful spring ramps and white button mushrooms.
Sautéed Fiddlehead Ferns
These bright green fronds lend themselves to many of the same uses as asparagus. Here they shine with a simple dressing of butter and lemon juice.
Roasted Ramps
Creamy poached eggs top this flavorful dish of perfectly-seasoned spring ramps.
Brown Butter Kale
Simple and irresistible, this Tom Douglas recipe combines quality ingredients to bring out the inherently nutty flavor of this protein-rich green.
Crispy Fried Shallots
These crisp little nibbles are wonderful scattered over salad greens.