It’s official, Spring has arrived. How can I be so sure? We had our first feast of fiddleheads this week.
For those of you won’t aren’t familiar with fiddleheads, they are the unfurled tops of ostrich ferns that only grow in the wild. Found in Canada and the eastern United States, the part you eat, the spiral shaped top of the fern, resembles the head of a fiddle.
If you’ve never had the fortune to eat these delicious greens, I encourage you to pick some up at the store the next time you see them. We enjoy them simply steamed and seasoned (recipe below) and I can never make enough for our family. In fact, this week, my girls were arguing over how many scoops of fiddleheads everyone gets…they settled on 5 scoops per person…and we all still wanted more.
This recipe is a true example of eating seasonally and locally. They are only in season a few weeks each year and I make sure to buy them whenever I see them. You can go out and forage them in the wild (that is how they are harvested) but I recommend you take a course on foraging or go with a guide since some ferns can be poisonous.
I have been eating fiddleheads from as far back as I can remember. After a long winter (up here in Canada), the appearance of fiddleheads in the stores is THE sign that spring is here.
Fiddleheads are not only known for the changing of the seasons and their delicious flavour and texture but also for many health benefits:
- They provide a good vegetarian source of Omega-3 fatty acids (great for our daughter who has a fish allergy). Omega 3 Fatty Acids are an essential fatty acid (EFA) that is found in every membrane of your cells. We are unable to create essential fatty acids so you must get them from your food sources.
- They are full of antioxidants. Anti-oxidants help to clear out free radicals in your body. A certain amount of free radicals are natural but when you are exposed to many toxins, through food, air, water, etc., your body needs antioxidants to help fight all the free radical damage.
- They have anti-inflammatory properties. Pair omega 3 fatty acids with antioxidants and you have a powerful combination to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation has been linked to most modern diseases and has been said to be the root cause of many diseases.
- They are high in fibre. Everyone needs dietary fibre. It helps to keep you healthy from top to bottom. Fibre helps to regulate blood sugar by slowing the rate that food enters the blood stream and regularly moves toxins out of your body.
- They contain small to moderate amounts of B-complex vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin which are important for cell metabolism, converting food into fuel while also creating by-products that need to be cleared out by the body.
If I have convinced you to give them a try, here’s our favourite way of eating them.
Steamed Fiddleheads
Ingredients:
1 pound of fresh fiddleheads
2 tablespoons of grass-fed butter or good quality olive oil
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Instructions:
- Wash fiddleheads by soaking in cold water, for 5 minutes, making sure to swish them around with your hands to release any dirt or brown scales. I usually place then in a colander and then submerge then in water.
- Remove the colander from the water and allow the fiddleheads to drain.
- Put a pot of water on and bring to a boil. Make sure that your pot is the same size as your bamboo steamer so it can sit on top.
- Using a pairing knife, remove the brown part of the stem and place into a bamboo steamer (make sure that you have a pot the same size as the bamboo steamer).
- Once all the fiddleheads have been trimmed and put into the steamer, place the steamer over the boiling pot of water and cook for around 15 minutes, make sure they are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Remove from steamer and place in a serving bowl.
- Immediately, add the grass-fed butter, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine well.
- Serve right away while they are warm.
Enjoy the fresh taste of Spring!