ottawa foodies

Those of you who like fiddleheads, Produce Depot on Carling has them right now.

They also have fresh chick peas and fresh, green almonds.

Thank you, Pan! yum, fiddleheads!!!

Yessiree! I saw a few stands in the market with them this afternoon, though I didn't catch the price.

Price? Price is nothing when fiddleheads are involved.

I think I might try pan-frying them somehow this time around. Anybody have any suggestions? I don't think I want to batter them.

Speaking of fiddleheads, I believe I saw some today when I was out on a hike!

momo>
brown butter, hazelnuts and lemon juice!

I love fiddleheads! Growing up I always went fiddlehead picking with my Mom. I am going to try and buy some today!

Oh lordy. Fiddleheads fried with brown butter and lemon juice. Sounds delicious.

I don't have any hazelnuts kicking around, but that's fine.

I'll report back tonight.

any nuts will do momo
hazels best match fiddleheads but cashews, almonds, brazils,
pecans even the decadent macadamiawill work
walnuts can be a bit bitter but some peeps like that
they add a textural nicety as well as "nuttiness"

i've only ever pan fried them. lots of garlic, EVOO/butter, splash of lemon juice, and salt & pepper.

blanch them first unless you like that earthy, bitter flavour...

Ahhh along with asparagus, the first vegetables of the season! I picked some up yesterday and the farmer indicated that the season will be about two weeks. He also mentioned that I should steam or boil at least 10 min...I presume is to guard against e coli or something similar. However 10 min seems like an eternity to me, I am an al dente kinda veggie guy.

How serious is this concern? I spoke with a fiddlehead aficiando buddy who thought that was particularly cautious...any thoughts?

Obi - nice idea I will use that one tonight.

Tracinho - they've been associated with food borne illness if not cooked fully. as noted boiling first also helps remove some of the strong bitterness.

Fiddleheads do contain an "unidenfied toxin" that is associated with food-borne illness. I don't know how widespread this illness is, but boiling or steaming prevents it.

They're also quite tannic when raw. A couple of years ago, there was an article in the New York Times questioning the sanity of people who raved about the first signs of spring, i.e. ramps and fiddleheads, because ramps are overpowering and fiddleheads taste terrible.

So that's a more important reason to cook fiddleheads.

My plan is thus: remove those icky brown scales by hand, boil five minutes, shock in a couple of changes of cold ice water, pat dry and bring back up to room temperature, pan-fry.

I *must* have nuts of some sort around here that I can use.

Interesting, I've only ever had them steamed... looks like I am going to have to try this butter & lemon prep. The food-borne illness thing is new to me... I have been eating fiddleheads my whole life, never heard of it... maybe because at home these little buggers are so popular (always steamed), no one even blinks at the thought of eating them (like here in Ottawa I find).

Ah yes, Spring is officially here...
Local Asparagus & Rhubarb soon to appear!

The bacteria associated with fiddleheads is due to the fact they grow in early spring and are subject to runoff/ residual water lying around.

Like stated above, the key is to cook them properly which generally kills of any vegetative bacteria.

Fiddleheads poking up through the lawn around the compost pile and along the headline, asparagus shoots poking up in the garden, rhubarb about ready to eat, as well as sorrel ready to start picking - yes F&T, spring is here! Hallelujah! And the garlic is doing well, the peas are planted, and the potatoes will be going in the ground late tomorrow afternoon if the rain holds off, awesome!

I did some fiddleheads tonight first steaming them then using chef Obi's suggestions of browned butter, hazelnuts (sliced was all I had) and lemon as well as some Parmigiano as I had shredded some for the ravioli with marinara sauce we were having. My wife was a little leery at first but she liked tham as did I; the fiddleheads were very mild and not at all bitter as they were small ones and very tender but the flavours of the butter, hazelnuts (especially yummy), lemon and Parm were a good accompaniment. Thanks for the suggestion, chef Obi, you were right on - I wouldn't have picked the hazelnuts.

Andy
Parm is a nice addition, one I do at home, but not at the resto as I deal with alot of lactose "peeps" and leave it optional
basically anything you can do with asparagii you can do with fiddles

the particular application I suggested is one I use frequently with any green veggie I want a kidlet (or fussy adult, lol) I would like them to try (well unless they are allergic to nuts, then I try pinenuts as most peeps aren't allergic to pignolias

(off subject: nut allergies
I still cannot bend my mind around some of it
peanuts are more related to peas and beans than to tree nuts but peeps tend to make peanut allergy inclusive of all nuts including tree nuts and seeds and kernels

just something that has bugged me since my biochem and foodchem classes back in the 80's)

what were we talking about again?
oh and pass the popcorn, please

I'm just tossing a ZaraMamaS Pop-A-Cob in the micro...

Talking of nut allergies - I work part-time in a school where no-one has nut allergies but some parent thinks their kid (I don't think he's been tested) may be allergic so the school is nut-free - all nuts - how's that for a crock! My other school at least has kids with severe peanut allergies, but still all nuts are banned.

yea, what a crock and a whole huge pile of it
the school should not have to be "nut-free" unless the child has been tested and there is medical documentation

I guess I should go back to fiddleheads

almost all plants that spring up at the start of spring has to have some sort of a defense against foraging creatures some do it in the form of nettles and thorns some with "toxins" that give off a bitter taste so they are not eaten down to a nub in the ground
removing the brown scales get rid of the "nettles" or something akin
blanching them, thoroughly, denatures the toxin
it's the same with rhubarbs, taro and malanga
but never forget, these are freshly born of the soil, there is still a need to be concerned about E.coli
I know of no farm-raised fiddleheads that grow in sterile medium so for that reason alone I would never eat them raw

I live in the country and actually have wild fiddle heads growing in the woods besides my house never cooked them yet, but maybe this year

You don't need to go far to find fiddleheads in the wild - the greenbelt & local conservation areas are full of them (I do not condone the act of foraging in conservation areas, check for local picking rules/bylaws re: protected species, etc).

Cooked our first batch of fiddleheads last night. As suggested, sauteed them in browned butter after blanching them and shocking them in ice water. Threw in some whole almonds and the juice of half a lemon.

Delicious. Probably the most non-fiddlehead-tasting preparation I've made, but they still brought a bit of their unique flavour to the party.

Well worth the $5 we spent on them!

I'd never heard of people getting ill from fiddleheads before this.

I've only ever prepped them quick wash in the sink and then sauteed so maybe that's been enough heat?

I just picked up one of the 8 or so packs of fiddleheads remaining at the Ottawa Farmer's Market this sunday. I can't wait to cook them up this evening.

Have to give Obi's suggestion credit where it is due...I blanched for 5 minutes (water was quite gross afterwards) rinsed and then sauted in brown butter and lemon juice as suggested. Topped with toasted crushed almonds...thought it worked out quite wonderfully although could have used a bit more lemony kick.

Thanks Chef Obi

OBI, Re: nut allergies. I think the reason most people with peanut allergies are cautious of other nuts is that they are often processed in the same factories.

you do have a point J-B