Ff is for Fiddleheads!!

A friend of mine participates in one of those fresh produce co-ops where you indicate whether or not you’re interested in picking up a basket early Saturday morning.  You can either order the regular basket or go organic.  I refer to this as her mystery basket, because when she arrives in the morning, standing in line with her basket, bag or wagon she’s presented with an eclectic collection of fresh produce.  She never knows what she’s going to walk away with.  But the good news is it’s all fresh and in season.

Yesterday my girlfriend called me and said she was given a bag of some funny looking, bright green and purplish curly things in her basket. 

“They kind of look like curled up caterpillars.”

“Bright green, purplish curly things?  I asked.  “Hmmm, oh!  Fiddleheads!” I exclaimed with great excitement.  “That’s amazing!  They gave you  Fiddleheads?  They have a very short season.  Like Blood Oranges, if you blink and don’t buy, you’ll miss out.  I’ll come over later this afternoon and we’ll cook ‘em up.”

When I arrived around 3:00, sure enough, there in her woven basket lined with a blue and white gingham cloth napkin was almost a pound of these tender little rolls.  I explained to her that Fiddleheads are a great source of vitamins A, B2 and B3, potassium and phosphorous.  Their taste is similar to asparagus and artichokes and they can be used in much the same way.  You can steam them, boil, fry or sauté them.   Some folks even pickle them.  They aren’t common in the produce section of your local grocery stores, since they have such a short harvest season, about two weeks,and they don’t keep well, maybe two or three days.   You’re more likely to find them at farmers’ markets or in this case in your produce “mystery basket”. 

“Well what exactly are they?”  She asked.

Fiddleheads are the coiled, frond of the Ostrich Fern.  Their harvest season is so short because within two weeks the coils unfurl and grow into full ferns.  I’ve read in some articles you can eat them raw, but I also learned in the 90’s, there was an outbreak of food borne illness suffered by those who ate raw or undercooked Fiddleheads.  So I follow the recommendation to boil these little fella’s first then prepare them to my liking.  I just can’t ever find them!

“Why are they called Fiddleheads if they come from the Ostrich Fern?”  She inquired further.

  By now her interest was piqued.  She had her hands in the basket and fingering through her collection of this unique little spring vegetable.

I instructed her to rinse them clean in the colander I fished out of her cupboard as I continued talking.  I explained that in this case the name is not derived from the origin of the food, but rather from its appearance.  It resembles the spiral end of a fiddle or violin.  The Fiddleheads my friend was given were fresh and of good quality.  A nice bright green colour with tinges of purple.  No soft or yellowish patches.  That would indicate old Fiddleheads. 

Once she had finished rinsing off the fuzzy scales, together we trimmed off the ends.  I added all the Fiddleheads to a large saucepot of salted, boiling water I had started earlier.  While they boiled for the next seven minutes I asked how she would like to prepare them.

“So, do you want to fry these and eat them as a snicker-snacker, make a stir fry, add them to a pasta dish, in a quiche or use them in a big salad?” I offered.

 

“Ohh, I’m not sure,” she was wavering.

“Hey!  You keep asking me to teach you how to prepare a nice risotto.  I can do that today.  We’ll make risotto with the Fiddleheads and add some fresh lemon zest to give it pop.”

 

“Okay,” she was back on board. 

“Good girl!  So do you have and Arborio or Carnaroli rice on hand?”

“Any what?"

Fiddlehead Risotto Recipe

Ingredients

6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth                            3 Tablespoons unsalted butter + 1

1 large shallot, minced                                                   1 cup short-grain rice, (Arborio, Bomba or Carnaroli)

½ cup dry white wine                                                     2 ounces fresh, grated Parmesan cheese

1 ½ cups Fiddleheads, clean and boiled                      Zest from one large lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1)      In a large saucepot heat broth to low, gentle boil.  Reduce heat, cover and keep warm until ready to use.

2)      In a separate medium saucepot heat butter over medium-low heat, until butter just begins to foam.  Add minced shallots cooking until they soften, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. 

3)      Add all the rice and continue cooking, stirring constantly until each grain of rice is well coated in butter and shallot.  About 5 minutes

4)      Lower heat and stir in all the wine.  Continue stirring and loving up the rice mixture.

5)      Once all the wine has been absorbed by the rice, stir in about ¾ cup of the warm broth.  Continue stirring, (by now you’re probably sipping a glass of that wine yourself).

6)      Once this liquid has been allowed to be absorbed by the rice, ladle in another ¾-1 cup of the warm broth.  Keep stirring, allowing the broth to be completely absorbed.  Continue this pattern until you have a nice creamy mixture of risotto.  About 25-30 minutes.  You may not use up all the warm broth.

7)      Season with salt and pepper to taste, add that additional tablespoon of butter, Parmesan cheese, the Fiddleheads and the lemon zest.

If your risotto is too thick add some of that warm broth.  Check again for additional seasoning if needed.  And serve immediately.                   Makes 6  4-oz. Servings

Okay, this isn't a picture of our Fiddlehead Risotto, it's someone else's.  Too much of that white wine so I forgot to take a picture of ours!