Fiddleheads and Morels...and so it begins...

Funny this, last year the first fiddleheads and morels arrived on May 12th, this year despite the horrid cold spring, the first few arrived on May 14th....gives you hope for the rest of the produce, doesn't it?

Finally, the sunshine is back!! What does that mean?
It means that the first of the Fiddleheads and Morels are back!!!

Fiddle heads are a strange little green vegetable, reminiscent of aliens. So what the heck are they? They are the unfurling fronds of the ostrich fern. When wild ostrich ferns start to sprout in the spring, pickers scour the forest floor for their tightly wound bright green heads. . The fronds are covered with a brownish, onion-skin like coating that must be removed before eating. Just rub them between your hands and wash well. Our pickers clean the fiddleheads very well.  After the chafe is removed, wash the fiddleheads well under cold running water to remove dirt before cooking. Aboriginal people from across the globe (Canada to New Zealand) have been eating fiddleheads for centuries . As the first green to appear after a winter of meat only diet....it's not surprising that they were considered to have medicinal and cleansing properties!!! On top of that fiddleheads are rich in iron, potassium, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamins A and C. Phew!!! 

Pickers spend hours in woodsy areas near streams at this time of year looking for patches of fiddleheads.  Once they find their patch, and see the little fiddleheads peaking up, they spend hours bent over, or crouched down low to the groun snapping the coiled heads off.  What a great spring ritual.

STORAGE

Store your fiddleheads in a reusable plastic container, in your fridge, for up to 5 days.  Keep them well wrapped as they will dry out if exposed to the air. 

*****Please note******

Fiddleheads contain an enzyme that some people cannot digest. Thorough cooking or freezing destroys the enzyme. Health Canada advises that fiddleheads should be cooked thoroughly before eating. Consuming raw or undercooked fiddleheads may cause ‘green apple’ symptoms including diarrhoea, nausea and upset stomach ewwww...

For more recipes, check out our recipe blog at cramptonsrecipes.com

FIDDLEHEADS WITH SESAME SEEDS
A quick and easy vegetable dish that’s good warm or cold.
3 cups fiddleheads
2 Tbsps sesame oil
1 thinly sliced hot or sweet pepper, to suit taste
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsps lemon juice
seasoned salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds (or slivered almonds)
lemon slices to garnish
Boil or steam fiddleheads until fork tender. While cooking, heat oil in small skillet and sauté pepper and garlic until soft. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and seasonings. Drain fiddleheads and toss with the oil mixture. Sprinkle with seeds and garnish with lemon.

TO FREEZE FIDDLEHEADS FOR WINTER USE
They freeze very well so you might want to put some up for winter enjoyment. Fiddleheads will last in the freezer from one season to the next. To freeze, blanch cleaned fiddleheads in boiling lightly salted water for 3 minutes. Drain, cool then put in air-tight bags and freeze.

We received just a few pounds of morels this morning.  They sell out so quickly that I don't dare send out an email about them until the quantities available increase.  For those of you who check the blog, you have the inside scoop. 

More more morels
Morel mushrooms, especially when they have been rained on, smell bad. Kinda like fish. But don't let the pungent aroma turn you off! They have a deep woodsy, heady mushroom flavour. A little goes a long way.
Prepare a bath of lightly salted cold water. Immerse the mushrooms in the water for a few minutes. This will make any small woodland insects that have crept into the mushroom crevices creep out again. Drain mushrooms until dry.

Erin's Prefered morel meal
15-20 fresh morels cut in half if large
1 large shallot chopped fine
1 large clove garlic chopped fine
2 TBS butter (best with unsalted)
2 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Put olive oil in heated pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté until softened but not brown. Add butter until melted then add morels. Stir and cook until mushrooms start to brown, about 4 min. Add chicken stock and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cream and cook on low until reduced and thickened. Classically served on toast, but the best on grilled New York Strip steaks.
There are many morel purists who would cringe at the very thought of adding anything to morels. Just fry up and enjoy them as they are! I find that I always want to eat more morels than I have though, so making a cream sauce out of them stretches out the flavour. To each their own.

Morels dry incredibly well, retaining all of their flavour. To rehydrate in the winter time, simple soak in water until plump, be sure to use the remaining liquid when making soups and stews.








For more Morel and Fiddlehead recipes, visit our recipe blog at cramptonsrecipes.com  
Cheers!
Erin