Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns

Sally, a MarxFoods.com customer from Maryland, was kind enough to share this great recipe for wild fiddleheads.

Sally’s Sauteed Fiddlehead Ferns
Recipe by Sally Alexander

For 2 lbs of Fiddlehead Ferns –  Serves 6

Render 1/2 lb of pancetta, cubed, in a 300 degree oven – for about half an hour or more, checking occasionally to turn a piece over and to make sure the meat doesn’t blacken.

Remove the pancetta from the oven. Allow to cool a few minutes, then place the cubes in a food processor, and tip the pan or cookie sheet into a large frying pan to pour off the fat into the frying pan.  Add several tablespoons of a good virgin olive oil to the fat, then a tablespoon of chopped garlic or more to taste (I use two).  Pulse the pancetta until it looks like coarse grain.    I did all this quite early in the day, to allow the garlic to infuse the oil.

Clip off the ends of the fiddleheads’ stems and gently wash the ferns in a colander.  Allow to air dry.

Heat the reserved oil / pancetta fat in the pan – about medium heat.  Add the fiddleheads and saute, turning from time to time with a spatula, until the fern stems are firm but tender.  This is a matter of taste – some might like fiddlehead ferns cooked longer – but it’s a shame to overcook them. Add a half cup of white wine and two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice; leave in the pan just a second, for the liquid to heat, and remove to a serving dish and sprinkle the pancetta over the ferns. I salt very little for health reasons, but that again is a matter of taste.   Lagniappe, as Paul Prudhomme would say: it’s nice to serve the ferns hot, but room temperature doesn’t injure the flavor, in my opinion.

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