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Fiddlehead Pasta Primavera

Fiddlehead Pasta Primavera is a modern American recipe for a classic dish of a topping of blanched fiddlehead ferns, garlic, shallots, and baby plum tomatoes in a wine and chicken stock sauce served on a pasta base. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic American version of: Fiddlehead Pasta Primavera.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Wild FoodVegetarian RecipesSpice RecipesHerb RecipesVegetable RecipesUSA Recipes



Fiddleheads are the young shoots of fern plants and are considered a delicacy in New England, Canada and Japan. They are actually the young fronds of ferns that have not unfurled to open as yet. Typically they are foraged in the wild during the two week period from their first appearance and before they begin to open. The name itself refers to the shape of the curled fronds, which look very similar to the scroll at the end of a violin (of fiddle) neck. Commercial fiddleheads are typically Ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, whereas wild-foraged fiddleheads tend to be Royal fern, Osmunda regalis. Common bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) fiddleheads are also consumed, particularly in Japan, but I would not recommend eating these, as they are rich in the putative carcinogen, ptaquiloside (most particularly in the young shoots) and this has been implicated in the higher incidence of gastric and oesophogaeal cancers in Japan. If you are picking fiddleheads, make certain that the scrolls are tightly curled and cut then within about 5cm of the stem beyond the scroll. Use your hands to remove the brown papery chaff encasing the head then wash in several changes of water to remove any dirt and debris. They are best consumed quickly after picking, but can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, pickled or blanched and frozen for later use.

Ingredients



500g fresh fiddleheads, cleaned, thoroughly rinsed and dried (Ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, or Royal fern, Osmunda regalis, for preference)
40g black olives, sliced
50g butter
60ml olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely minced
3 shallots, minced
250g baby plum tomatoes, chopped
100ml vegetable stock
60ml dry white wine
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
rosemary, to taste
thyme leaves, to taste
cooked pasta (linguine or fine vermicelli), to serve

Method:

Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the fiddleheads and blanch for 1 minute then drain. Rinse in cold water then place in a pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 8 minutes, or until crisp-tender then drain and plunge into iced water (this helps maintain their crispness). Drain the fiddleheads and pat dry.

Heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic and shallots and fry for about 3 minutes, or until softened, but not browned. Now stir in the wine, fiddleheads, tomatoes, olives and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice then season to taste with salt and black pepper, rosemary and thyme.

Take off the heat and serve immediately on a bed or linguine or angel-hair pasta. Garnish with plenty of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese and serve.