The first fiddleheads of the season are here, with wild leeks also being unearthed (look for a recipe in an upcoming post), and thus starts spring in southern Vermont. There was no farmers’ market during the month of April here in Brattleboro—a break between the winter and summer markets—so my fiddleheads came from a father and young daughter forager duo offering their bounty in one-pound bags by the side of the road.
Fiddleheads are low in calories and high in vitamins, particularly vitamins A and C, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids, and they take well to intensely flavored marinades, such as this limey Thai-inspired one. Note that many varieties of fern are poisonous, so if you’re inclined to foraging, make sure you know what you’re looking for before you search out your own, and don’t eat them raw, as raw fiddleheads can cause gastric upset. Enjoy them often, as their season is short, just a few weeks in early springtime.
Serves 4
1 pound fiddlehead ferns
1 small red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional; if not using, add salt to taste)
1 small green chile, such as jalapeño, minced
3 tablespoons unsweetened desiccated coconut
Large handful chopped fresh cilantro
Large handful chopped fresh mint
1. Clean the fiddleheads: Brush away as much of the light brown papery sheath from the fiddleheads as possible, then wash the fiddleheads in several changes of cold water.
2. Cook the fiddleheads: Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add the fiddleheads, return to a boil, and boil for about 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain, then rinse the fiddleheads to cool them down and put them in a large bowl.
3. Add the lime juice and fish sauce or salt and toss. Add the chile, coconut, cilantro, and mint and toss again. If time allows, let the salad sit for 30 minutes or so to marinate so the fiddleheads can absorb the flavors to the fullest. Taste, adjust the seasonings with lime juice and/or fish sauce or salt if needed, and serve.
Leda Scheintaub’s latest work is Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen: 100 Recipes Featuring the Bold Flavors of Fermentation, to be published by Rizzoli in September 2014. It’s available for preorder through Amazon. She is also the coauthor (with Denise Mari) of Organic Avenue; coauthor (with Carol Alt) of Easy, Sexy Raw; and the recipe developer for The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto. She has been a freelance writer, editor, and recipe tester for the past twelve years and lives with her husband in southern Vermont, where you’ll often find her at the Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market.
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