WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: While fiddleheads are often prepared in a simple sauté or pickled, we wanted to create a more complex dish that would both showcase the fiddlehead’s showstopping appearance and highlight its unique flavor and texture. We envisioned a bread salad, or panzanella, abundant with bright green fiddleheads and studded with complementary vibrant flavors and colors. We knew from our initial testing that tasters thought fiddleheads were at their best when they were blanched before any further preparation. Blanching ensured that they were fully clean and also turned the fiddleheads a vivid green. We tried sautéing them with aromatics after blanching, but that sauté turned our fiddleheads an unappealing shade of brown-green, and the aromatics masked their fresh asparagus-like flavor. So we returned to a simple blanching; tasters loved the color and unadulterated flavor. We tossed them with rich, chewycrispy croutons, sweet grape tomatoes, and a simple vinaigrette. Fresh basil and creamy goat cheese finished the dish, for a beautiful salad that showed off the foraged ferns’ best side. You can substitute 6 ounces cherry tomatoes for the grape tomatoes. A rasp-style grater makes quick work of turning the garlic into a paste. Be sure to set up the ice water bath before cooking the fiddleheads; plunging them into the cold water immediately after blanching retains their bright green color and ensures that they don’t overcook.
Serves: 6
Total time: 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound fiddleheads, trimmed and cleaned
- Salt and pepper
- 6 ounces ciabatta or sourdough bread, cut into ¾-inch pieces (4 cups)
- ½ cup extravirgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced to paste
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 5 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (½ cup)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Fill large bowl halfway with ice and water. Add fiddleheads and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer
fiddleheads to ice water and let sit until cool, about 2 minutes. Transfer fiddleheads to platter lined with triple layer of paper towels and dry well. - Toss bread, 3 tablespoons water, and ¼ teaspoon salt together in large bowl, squeezing bread gently until water is absorbed. Cook bread mixture and ¼ cup oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Off heat, push bread to sides of skillet. Add 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and cook using residual heat of skillet, mashing mixture into skillet, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Stir bread into garlic
mixture, then transfer croutons to bowl to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. - Whisk remaining 3 tablespoons oil, vinegar, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper together in large bowl until combined. Add fiddleheads, croutons, and tomatoes and toss gently to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving platter and sprinkle with goat cheese and basil. Serve.
