Fresh from the Forest

Or should I say my Mother's garden.

Fiddle heads: those immature baby ferns, delicate and curly, eaten and enjoyed in many different parts of the world.  And my new favorite veggie!

Every Wednesday night I spend with my parents, visiting and talking, catching up, and often trying some new interesting food!  As a 3rd generation epicure how could I say no when my Mom suggested picking some fiddle heads from her garden and trying them with dinner for the first time.

They were excellent, rather like asparagus, but without the strange texture.  Also they were ridiculously cute, and seemed the the perfect "mori" food!

First we washed them to get the brown papery "scales" and dirt off.

Then we steamed them until they were tender.  Most sites seem to suggest 20 minutes

We ate them with some simple butter and lemon.  Yum!

While we picked ours from the ostrich ferns my Mom planted years ago, these ferns grown wild over most of the northern hemisphere.  I'm hoping to go for a walk in the woods sometime soon to find some more!  

If you are interested in eating wild fiddle heads here is some additional info on them.  A warning though; there is some worry that fiddle heads are carcinogenic if eaten in large quantities.   As it has a very very short harvest season, eating enough fiddle heads to cause this seems unlikely to me.  With all wild foods, please be careful and use your own good judgement!