Fiddlehead Pizza Recipes

FIDDLEHEAD PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl combine fiddleheads, eggs, flour, Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Stir well and set aside. In a small saucepan heat oil. Add onion and garlic; cook for 1 or 2 min or until onions are transparent. Combine with fiddlehead mixture, stirring well. Spread into a greased 30 cm round pizza pan. Add oregano and basil to tomato sauce. Spread over fiddlehead crust and sprinkle with bacon and cheese. Arrange remaining fiddleheads on top of pizza and bake at 350℉ (180℃). for 20 min.

SPRING FIDDLEHEAD PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until very al dente, about 9 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
• Combine the ricotta, lemon zest and a few grinds of black pepper in small bowl and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter begins to foam, add the fiddleheads and sprinkle with pepper and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring gently, until the fiddleheads are crisp-tender and caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the fiddleheads to a bowl. Add the lemon juice, cooked pasta and reserved water to the skillet and return to medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens slightly and the pasta is al dente. Add the ricotta mixture and lightly toss until the pasta is just coated.
• Divide the pasta among 4 bowls and top with the fiddleheads and a few grinds of black pepper.

FIDDLEHEAD PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. with pizza stone in lower third of oven (allow about 1/2 hour for it to reach temperature). Stir together water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil in a large bowl until yeast dissolves. (If you wait 5 minutes and see a little foaming action, continue with the recipe. If not, start over.) Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon (not all the flour will get absorbed at first). Dump the shaggy dough and excess flour on a work surface and knead the dough, dusting it lightly with additional flour when it gets sticky, until elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form it into a ball and let it rest under an inverted bowl for a minimum of 10 minutes (it can sit for 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate it in an oiled bowl, covered tightly with plastic wrap up to 1 week; or freeze it). Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Wash the fiddleheads well in a bowl of water, pouring off any chaff, and drain well. Blanch fiddleheads in a pot of salted boiling water 2 minutes, uncovered. Skim off chaff, then drain fiddleheads in a sieve. Toss fiddleheads with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl and roast on a rimmed baking sheet in oven until tender, about 5 minutes. Halve the dough. Dust one half lightly with flour, then flatten it slightly on a large piece of parchment paper with a floured rolling pin. Roll it into a thin round (about 12 inches in diameter) and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil, leaving a border. Top with half the mozzarella, tearing it into pieces, and scatter half the garlic slices, half the roasted fiddleheads, half the red onion rings, and half the Parmesan over the pizza. Use a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet to slide the pizza, still on the parchment, onto the pizza stone and bake until the crust is deep golden and the cheese is bubbling, about 10 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Make another pizza with remaining ingredients.

FIDDLEHEAD FERNS

Steps:

• Before you're ready to cook cut about 1/8-inch off the thick ends if they look brown and rinse the fern shoots thoroughly to get rid of the brown fuzzy chaff that clings to their sides. Dry the shoots thoroughly before cooking by first spinning them in a lettuce spinner and then patting them with paper towels. Melt butter in a pan at medium heat. Add garlic, parsley and fiddleheads to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 5 minutes or until they are done.

SAUTEED FIDDLEHEADS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook fiddlehead ferns in the boiling water until barely tender, 7 to 10 minutes; drain.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the prepared fiddlehead ferns, garlic, and the salt and pepper. Cook and stir until ferns are tinged lightly brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with lemon juice.