Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Morels and Fiddlehead Ferns

morel & fiddlehead fern

When S saw the green spirals, his reaction was "Hey, those look like they are vegetables from an Enid Blyton book!" I couldn't agree more and they even had a name to match - fiddlehead fern. Don't they sound like they belong to the Magic Faraway Tree?

Fiddlehead fern and morel mushrooms appear to be all the rage because they are in season. S and I had never tried fiddlehead fern before and morels are not so common either, so we decided to try them together. I stuffed the chicken I had planned to for dinner back in the fridge since I read that the fiddleheads should be cooked on the same day you buy them.

morels & fiddlehead fern

morel & fiddlehead fern salad

To prepare fiddlehead ferns, rinse them over several changes of water. Then put them in a pot of boiling water for about 5-7 minutes. These steps will remove the toxins in them. Immediately submerge in a bowl of cold water after removing from the heat, to keep the pretty green color.

I don't quite have a recipe. I just made a potato salad with less dressing. Saute the morels with butter and garlic. Do the same with the fiddleheads. Mix them together and sprinkle with pine nuts and slices of spring onion.

3 comments:

Eni said...

Wow, I am in agreement that your vegetables appear to have been taken out of an Enid Blyton book such as The Magic Faraway Tree. In fact, I have a segment sub-titled, "Food in Blytonian Literature" in my book on Enid Blyton, titled, The Famous Five: A Personal Anecdotage (www.bbotw.com).
Stephen Isabirye

diva said...

These are just too cute. I've always wanted to try fiddleheads but can't seem to find them around here. One day i hope! x

lonely only's mom said...

how did it taste? Looks spiky. Super cool looking!

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