Food Bytes A monthly Newsletter by Prudence Sloane

Fear Of Fiddleheads?

It’s that time of year again for “The Return of the Swamp Thing”. Like cheap horror movies they suddenly appear when you least expect them. Known affectionately as fiddleheads - non-affectionately as the “swamp things.” You see them unfurling along side the road, where car fumes, road dust and passing dogs can get at them. It’s much safer to forage for them at the supermarket (not all ferns are edible.) But you have to be quick. The season is shorter than summertime in the Antarctic. It’s about two weeks. People either love them or hate them. Prepared correctly they taste fresh and vibrant like mild asparagus. Treated poorly they taste like something that has festered in a moldy old swimming pool. The trick is to remove the bitter brown leafy parts. Begin by soaking the fiddleheads in water for 5 minutes. Then vigorously swirl to let loose any brown parts that will fall to the bottom.

I needed a little inspiration and imagination to conjure up a new recipe for fiddleheads. So instinctively I turned to the vegetable section of my cooking library. Out of ten books devoted entirely to green things and the like, not one book mentioned fiddleheads.

Could this be a cook’s fear of fiddleheads? Or do most of the vegetable cookbook authors come from the West Coast where the closest thing to a fiddlehead is the fern plant hanging on the back porch? Since these edible curly ferns are from the Eastern half of the United States, I checked out local authors. And behold - two divine recipes guaranteed to turn these creatures from the black lagoon, into a springtime treat from the blue lagoon. This is the recipe I came up with. It was an instant hit at a dinner party celebrating spring.

Warm Salad of Fiddlehead Ferns and Other Seasonal Vegetables

Prudence Sloane

1/2 pound fiddlehead ferns

2-3 ounces of lean bacon, diced

1 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds, 1/2” thick

Kernels from two ears of corn

1 pint cherry tomatoes

Handful of arugula

2 tablespoons of snipped chives

Couple of splashes of rice wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the fiddlehead in water to remove any brown papery parts. Drop the fiddleheads in salted boiling water for 6 minutes. Drain and cover with ice water to stop them from cooking further. Drain and hold aside. Sauté the diced bacon until crisp. Remove and hold aside. Sauté the zucchini slices for 1 minute on each side in the bacon fat. Remove and hold aside. Pour out any remaining fat in the pan. Add the blanched fiddleheads, corn, tomatoes, arugula, zucchini, bacon and chives to the hot pan. Toss with some rice wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature

First Printed in the Norwich Bulletin, 2001

Venetian Mussel Risotto with Saffron & Spring Peas

Adapted from The Food of Campanile by Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton

Serves 4-6

Stock

1 LB mussels (about 30 mussels)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic

3-4 sprig of herbs (parsley, thyme, fennel)

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/3 teaspoon saffron

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons minced onion

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

4-5 cups stock (use the mussel broth and water)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt to taste

Prepare the mussels.

Clean the mussels discarding any that won’t close when taped. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and add garlic and herbs. Gently heat for 1-2 minutes then add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the mussels, cover and steam for about 3-5 or until they open. Remove the mussels from the pan, shell and reserve. Let the broth rest for a moment to let any sand settle. Pour off the top leaving the sand behind. Use the mussel cooking liquid as stock combined with water to make the right amount. Add the saffron to the hot stock.

Sauté the onion in the butter until soft - do not brown. Add the rice and stir until coated with the butter. Add the wine and let evaporate. Add the hot broth 1/2 to one cup at a time to the rice and let evaporate while stirring. Continue adding more liquid if necessary to achieve the desired doneness. When the rice is just done, remove from the heat and stir in an additional cup of broth, the mussels, peas and lemon juice. Add salt to taste. This mixture should be somewhat soupy in consistency. Add additional stock if necessary.

Adding other seafood:

Raw lobster, scallops, shrimp, dense fish and seafood that should be cooked completely should be added about 5 minutes before the rice is done. It should also be added with stock so it cooks through, or pre-cook it and add at the end. Other seafood like salmon, delicate white fish, squid, clams out of shell can be added 1 to 2 minutes before the rice is done. Add cooked seafood at the end.

From the TV series “Let’s Eat! with Prudence Sloane”

May 2009

Photo by Bob Chaplin

Kitchen Tip

Spring is here and asparagus is out in full force at the grocery stores. Are you a snapper or a peeler? I’m a snapper. Peeling looks prettier – long delicate slender spears going from green to white. But many of those pretty spears are still fibrous. That’s why I’m a snapper. Asparagus breaks exactly where tender turns to tough. And it’s fast.

Restaurant Deal of the Month - No Restrictions

Never was it a better time to go out to eat! Just about every restaurant is getting into the slumping economic act by offering all kinds of deals - 3 course prix-fixe, two for one, all you can eat ... Many come with restrictions such as having to order before a certain time when business is slow or it’s only offered on certain days, excluding Friday and Saturday nights. Or the offered deal menu is limited, kind of like Monday’s Meatloaf, Tuesday’s Mac and Cheese. Well, one of my favorite restaurants, Costa Del Sol is giving their customers free range on a three course prix-fixe top-of-the-line menu for $24.95 with no restrictions - no black out dates, days or times! Don’t you just love it!

Costa Del Sol 901 Wethersfield, Hartford www.costadelsolrestaurant.net

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