Fiddleheads Anyone

A couple of weeks ago my husband along with his siblings went fiddlehead picking. We love fiddleheads; so what a treat it is for us to have our freezer filled with them. Fiddleheads are a good source of vitamins A and C, niacin and riboflavin, and are nutritionally comparable to asparagus and other common green vegetables. Most cook books suggest that fiddleheads only be cooked until tender; however it is recommended that fresh fiddleheads be boiled for 15 minutes or steamed for 20 minutes before consumption.


There is the basic way to eat fiddleheads which is boiled or steamed (15-20 minutes) and loaded with lots of butter and salt!! Since we have so many I wanted to find other ways to cook them; like in a creamy white sauce or in a lasagna. I was very disappointed that from searching google I didn't come across anything that was pleasing to my craving. So I had to do the inevitable...create my own invention.




First I tried fiddlehead spaghetti...I know the name is so original! While the fiddleheads where boiling I made a basic white sauce; equal parts margarine and flour melted in sauce pan, then add milk until desired consistency. I did happen to have some soy milk in the fridge (only because I had a free coupon for it) so I used some of that which gave it a bit of a nutty taste. Once the sauce was thick I added some mozzarella cheese and for spices I added fresh thyme and tarragon. Served with a warm piece of homemade bruschetta this was delicious...but now what to do with the left overs. Well what do I usually do with my left over spaghetti? Make spaghetti pie of course, so that is what I tried with this stuff. I followed my orginal recipe for the crust then I poured on the sauce, mozzarella cheese and fiddleheads.