JunqueGirl--"I made a really nice meal last night with one of the choicest and rarest of spring vegetables – the fiddlehead fern. The still-curled fronds of the ostrich fern only make an appearance at the farmer’s market for two weeks all year, so we grab ‘em up when they show. Could be made with green beans or asparagus.
I cubed a sweet potato and tossed with some olive oil, salt and pepper and put it in the oven to roast, and rinsed a can of pinto beans and left ‘em in the colander to drain. A big handful of fiddleheads got steamed to kill any unknowns (they’re foraged, so who knows?) and then sautéed in a mixture of olive oil and butter with some diced red onion to get them nice and browned. When they looked close to being done, I added the beans and let them warm up. Then I turned off the heat, tossed in the roasted sweet potato and dressed the whole thing in a honey, lime and chili powder vinaigrette I made. It was really tasty – the luscious green fiddleheads, hearty and nutty beans, the sweetness of the yam and the really bright, tangy vinaigrette… yum."
