Nothing says "FINALLY, winter's OVER!" like the lowly fiddlehead (photo from New Brunswick Tourism). Yes, they look like alien appendages but they're SO delicious and made even more so by the fact that they're only available for a few weeks out of the year - after that they turn into full-grown ferns and are no longer tender and delectable.
I developed a taste for these suckers when I was a wee little tot living in backwoods New Brunswick and they grew all around my home. Now I gleefully shell out $5 a pound and patiently stand at the sink rinsing off the weird brown stuff for the privilege of eating wild green stuff at the end of a winter full of squash and potatoes.
If you live in Atlantic Canada and have never tried them, I command you to get thyself to a farmers' market (the ones at the grocery store just DON'T COMPARE) and pick some up. They don't need any fancy seasonings - just steam them and add some olive oil, lemon juice and salt to let the flavours shine through. They're good on linguini (that's my plan for tomorrow's supper) or served alongside a light entree, but for the purist (or anyone, really) nothing beats a big plate of lightly-seasoned fiddleheads at the beginning of the season. They're a feast in their own right and will proudly stand alone in all their alien-appendage-y glory
2 comments:
Having never tried these till i moved out here, i endorse this message.
Ugh, they look sick, sick and wrong. I'd be scared they'd unfurl while they were on my plate and attack me with hidden spikes. :(
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