Recipe - Fiddlehead Fern Pasta

Serves 2

If you are not used to fiddlehead ferns, then they can be somewhat odd. Fiddlefern heads are the young fronds of ferns of many varieties that are eaten around the world. In the united stated, the fiddlehead fern season is early spring.

This pasta recipe is an adaptation of something I found in a cook book and is a great recipe for a luncheon or a early spring dinner.

Ingredients:

2 large handfuls of fiddlehead ferns
2 servings of your favorite pasta
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 small onion (chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
two tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chicken (or any other type) stock
1/4 cup of cream
salt
pepper
1 cup of shaved and crumbled parmesian cheese
truffle oil

Instructions:

Notes: Before you start, you may want to experiment of the consistency you like your vegetables. Generally I like my fiddlehead ferns lightly cooked so that they have a fresh crisp texture. If you do not like that, then you may need to adjust your cooking times accordingly.

1. Wash the fiddlehead ferns thoroughly and remove any of the brown casings and extra bits
2. Get some water bowling in a pot large. (Be sure the pot is large enough to cook your pasta).
3. Put the fiddlehead ferns into the bowling water and blanch for about 3 minutes
4. Remove the fiddlehead ferns from the bowling water and put aside.
5. Start cooking the pasta for the time required by the pasta recipe or package
6. In a frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat
7. Add the onions and garlic and sautee for 5 or 20 minutes. The length is up to taste, if you like caramelized onions, sautee them for longer to get them caramelized. If you like them less cooked, then do that instead.
8. Once the onions are to the desired consistency, add the mushrooms, fiddlehead ferns, stock, and cream. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Let the mixture sautee for another 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked to the consistency you want.
10. To serve, arrange the pasta on a dish, and scoop the fiddlehead fern sauce over the pasta. Then sprinkle a half cup of the parmesian chunks on top of the pasta and finally drizzle about a teaspoon of truffle oil on top of all that.

This dish works best when everything is still hot or warm so that the parmesian partially melts, further forming the sauce.