fiddleheads

A few years ago, I remember sitting in some loft, listening to an altered jazz piece, trying to grasp this bizarre sound uttered by the trumpet player. It was all bendy and all over the place, reminiscent of plucked strings. When I finally found the words, I explained it as the sound that fiddlehead ferns would make, if they could.

That particular sound and particular instant prescribed the positive feelings I associate with fiddleheads. So when my roomie made a buttery, garlicky pan of fiddlehead ferns late last week, the desire to crunch my way through my very own batch carried over to my next grocery trip. I saw them all glistening and green and fresh, in a tray at Harvest, and fell all over myself getting to them.

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Sautéed Fiddleheads

a few ounces of fiddlehead ferns

butter
olive oil

garlic (1 clove)

salt and pepper

1. Clean the ferns: trim the brown ends, remove the chaff, rinse off the grit.

2. I like to parboil mine briefly, for 1-2 minutes, I think it helps with even cooking.

3. Sauté fiddleheads and chopped garlic in olive oil on medium heat. Cover while cooking for ~3-5 minutes.

4. Salt, pepper to taste. Finish with a pat of butter.

*Note: eating too many fiddleheads will make you sick (nauseous, dizzy, and the like) due to certain substances in the ferns. Cooking fully and eating sparingly will decrease the likelihood of toxicity.