Fiddlehead Ferns Steamed With A Creamy Dijon Sauce Recipes

FIDDLEHEAD FERNS

Steps:

• Before you're ready to cook cut about 1/8-inch off the thick ends if they look brown and rinse the fern shoots thoroughly to get rid of the brown fuzzy chaff that clings to their sides. Dry the shoots thoroughly before cooking by first spinning them in a lettuce spinner and then patting them with paper towels. Melt butter in a pan at medium heat. Add garlic, parsley and fiddleheads to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5 minutes or until they are done.

FIDDLEHEAD FERNS STEAMED WITH A CREAMY DIJON SAUCE

Steps:

• Clean and prepare fiddleheads:.
• Remove scales and wash thoroughly. Place fiddleheads in a vegetable steamer over boiling water sprinkle garlic over them.
• Cover and steam 20 minutes or until tender, but still crisp. Set aside, and keep warm.
• Sauce:.
• Combine cornstarch and buttermilk in a small saucepan; stir well. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in mustard, lemon juice, tarragon and pepper.
• Arrange fiddleheads on a serving platter, spoon sauce over fiddleheads. Granish with lemon slices.
• Serve immediately.

STEAMED FIDDLEHEADS WITH HORSERADISH SCALLION SAUCE

Steps:

• In a steamer set over boiling water steam the fiddleheads for 5 minutes, or until they are crisp-tender, transfer them with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking, and transfer them to paper towels to drain. In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt, the mayonnaise, the lemon juice, the mustard, the horseradish, the scallion, and salt and pepper to taste, whisking until the sauce is smooth, and serve the fiddleheads topped with the sauce.
• To clean fresh-picked fiddleheads
• Snap off the crisp, bright green fiddlehead tops from ostrich ferns, leaving about 2 inches of stem attached. Rub off the dry brown casings by hand or put the fiddleheads in a wire salad basket and whirl the basket outdoors to remove the casings. Let the fiddleheads soak in a sink half full of cold water, changing the water several times to remove any grit or casing particles, and drain them. The fiddleheads keep, covered and chilled, for 1 week.

SAUTEED FIDDLEHEAD FERNS

Steps:

• Remove the dry, sheathlike papery particles from the fiddleheads. Fill a medium bowl with cool water; add 1 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice. Add ferns, and push them down into the water several times to clean them. Transfer to paper towel to drain.
• On a steamer rack set over an inch of water in a saucepan, steam fiddleheads, covered, until tender, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add fiddleheads, and cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until golden. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

SAUTEED FIDDLEHEADS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fiddlehead ferns in the boiling water until barely tender, 7 to 10 minutes; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the prepared fiddlehead ferns, garlic, and the salt and pepper. Cook and stir until ferns are tinged lightly brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with lemon juice.