Fiddleheads at the University District Farmer's Market

Fiddlehead ferns were almost unknown in Seattle until 1962 Seattle World’s Fair when they appeared on the menu of the Space Needle. The unfurled tip of new growth fronds on the Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia Struthiopteris), Fiddleheads have been springtime treat of Northeast forests for generations.

Can I just say that the word “treat” is subjective, and that maybe it was intended to reference the fact that Fiddleheads are not farmed, and can only be foraged, more than how good they are?  For Euell Gibbons maybe.

Appearing for the last two weeks at the University Farmers Market, Fiddlehead Ferns are visually scrumptious little furled up twirls of green. Coming from hard to get to forests, they must taste as good as they look, right?

Well, not exactly. I have cooked them almost every year, but this time I decided to consult all the recipes I could find. Maybe I have just missed something. Most recipes suggested sauteeing quickly in olive oil and butter or just butter, along with garlic, shallot or leek. Big clues: butter softens flavors, especially slightly bitter ones, and onions, garlic and shallots add flavor. Another clue: every recipe cautioned not to over cook them to avoid bitterness. Several suggested adding lemon and salt. Oh, one more: avoid fronds that are not tightly curled and those with any brown showing. Bitterness again.

So now I have butter, olive oil, shallot, lemon juice and salt. By this time I’m thinking these cute little curlicues might not be quite the culinary treat I hope they will be. But I love almost all foods so I keep going.

Rinsed Fiddleheads

Carefully rinse, clip off tips to 2”, and drain. Heat oil, add minced shallot and the Fiddleheads along with butter, chopped parsley and a few bursts of fresh lemon juice. Couldn’t resist picking out one to taste. No bitterness, but instant reminder of those big grass stems I sucked on my way to Sunday school.  Add a little salt and slide onto the plate. Taste again. Flavor is OK, especially the shallot, olive oil and butter. Texture is interesting, not quite tough but definitely not tender.

I finished my serving feeling relieved that if I ever am caught in the forest in the spring and happen to have matches, a pan, some extra virgin olive oil, a few pats of butter, some salt and a lemon, and if I can recognize a Matteuccia Struthiopteris fern, I will not only not starve, but I also surely will be motivated to find my way out.