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Fiddleheads

Get to know greens at the farmers’ market

May 11, 2021 By marketeditor

Fiddleheads, Ramble Creek Farm, photo by Madison Jackson

By Madison Jackson & Julia Howard

Spring is finally bringing warmer weather and with it an abundance of much-anticipated seasonal produce to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Greens, in many forms, including perennials, hearty cold-weather crops, and greenhouse-grown, have been catching our eye, and we invite you to try some fresh new flavors of the season.

Several farms at the Wednesday and Saturday farmers’ markets offer varieties of greens. This includes red romaine, baby spinach, radicchio, green romaine, red leaf, arugula, mustard greens, red chard, and tatsoi. These greens offer distinct fresh flavors and textures, and they are high in nutritional value, too. Depending on the green, some may be cooked, wilted, or enjoyed fresh as a salad.

Pea & sunflower shoots, Leaning Birch Farm, photo by Madison Jackson

Vibrant sunflower and sweet pea shoots are available at Leaning Birch Farm on Saturdays. Pea shoots have the sweet, grassy flavor of snap peas with a refreshing crunch, and sunflower shoots have a nutty taste with a similar crisp bite. According to Nic Fera of Leaning Birch Farm, both are a year-round crop for their farm. “They are great to add a little fresh accent to dishes,” says Fera.

Capital Greens NY brings varieties of microgreens to the Saturday farmers’ market, including the mixes like their Signature Gourmet, Thai Basil, and Gourmet Fiesta. Microgreens are young vegetable greens packed with nutrients and are easy to incorporate into many dishes or used as a garnish. Try them on sandwiches, in salads, on pizza, or blend them into a smoothie.

If you’re a fan of fiddleheads, stop by Ramble Creek Farm this month while they’re in season. Fiddleheads are young shoots that grow from the ostrich fern, and with a very narrow harvest season, you can only enjoy these shoots in the early spring from around late April to early June. With a nutty and sweet flavor reminiscent of asparagus, fiddleheads may be steamed, braised, or sauteed, as they contain a trace amount of a toxin and cannot be consumed raw.

This week, we encourage you to try something new, whether it be a new product or shopping with a new vendor at the Wednesday or Saturday markets.

This week’s recipe: Spring Vegetable Pasta

Filed Under: Featured Article, homepage feature, News Tagged With: Capital Greens NY, Fiddleheads, greens, Leaning Birch Farm, microgreens, pea shoots, Ramble Creek Farm, spring, sunflower shoots

Spring Vegetable Pasta

May 11, 2021 By marketeditor

Photo by Pattie Garrett

Recipe by Simply Fresh Dinners, shared by My Saratoga Kitchen Table
Serves: 4

Ingredients
*Ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market
● 14 ounces pasta* (use tagliatelle, fettuccini, or your favorite pasta)
● 2 cups fiddleheads* (in cold water, rinse and remove the brown papery husk on the fiddleheads, do this several times)
● 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil*
● 1 garlic clove, minced
● ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
● 1 cup asparagus*, rinse, cut off woody ends, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
● Juice from one lemon, zest from half the lemon
● ½ cup cherry tomatoes*, halved
● 2 scallions*, sliced
● ¼ cup fresh basil*, chopped
● Garnish with pea shoots*

Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to directions on box until al dente. Save 4 Tablespoons of cooking water. Drain and rinse.
2. Cook cleaned fiddleheads in boiling water (a rolling boil) for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain and place in ice-cold water. This will shock the fiddleheads and stop the cooking process, leaving them bright green.
3. Heat olive oil in skillet on medium-high heat. Add garlic and red pepper. Cook for one minute. Add asparagus, juice, zest and pasta water. Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add fiddleheads and cook an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add cooked pasta. Toss well until coated. Top with tomatoes, scallions, basil, and pea shoots.

Filed Under: News, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With: asparagus, basil, cherry tomatoes, Fiddleheads, main dish, microgreens, olive oil, pasta, pea shoots, spring, tomatoes

One-Hit Wonders of Spring | Did You Know…

May 12, 2016 By marketeditor

Malta Ridge fiddleheads at Saratoga Farmers' Market

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

David from Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens foraging fiddleheads.
David from Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens foraging fiddleheads.
Meg from Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens foraging fiddleheads.
Meg from Malta Ridge Orchard and Gardens foraging fiddleheads.

One of the loveliest aspects of spring in our part of upstate New York is the arrival of one-hit wonders: wild or cultivated foods that are only available fresh for a few short weeks at some random window of time between mid-April and early June. Among the stars of the list are fiddleheads, the tightly spiraled tips of a fern that taste like an explosion of spring.

With all of the joys of seeing fiddleheads at the Saratoga Farmers’ Markets come some qualms: What do you do with these things? How do you know that they’re safe to eat?

I once shared some of these qualms, for good reason. Back in 1996, while traveling in India, I bought a bag full of fiddleheads from a farmer who encouraged me to peel them and cook them like any other pea or bean vegetable. I did so, washing my hands constantly along the way, with the help of a friend who did not wash up. She became violently ill and had to be hospitalized for the night.

So, what does that say about fiddleheads? Are they safe?

The answer is yes, with precautions.

Because fiddleheads are a wild crop, they do need to be prepared and eaten with care. With care, they are delicious like asparagus with a buttery flavor. They are loaded with vitamins A and C, and they don’t require a whole lot of preparation. So what kind of care does one need to take with fiddleheads? Here are the steps:

  • Stick to the fiddlehead piece of the fern itself. Sometimes, you’ll see fiddleheads for sale at markets on longer stems. The stems should be cut within 1/8th of an inch from the point where the fern curls tightly inward, forming the fiddlehead.
  • Make sure the fiddlehead is tightly curled. As the fern matures, the fiddlehead tip uncurls, forming the ultimately full fern that is beautiful to look at but not safe to eat.
  • Don’t eat fiddleheads raw. Most experts point to a mild toxicity that resides in the raw fern. They recommend washing fiddleheads thoroughly, rubbing off any of the brown papery covering that accompanies them, and give them a good rinse and draining. After all this, heat a small pot of water to boiling and toss in the cleaned fiddleheads. Boil until their intensely emerald green hue turns to a softer jade, about 3 minutes. Blanch in ice cold water.

IMG_6196a-webBecause fiddleheads are close to asparagus in color and flavor, many recipes recommend doing to fiddleheads what might be done to asparagus. I personally like them clean and simple. After blanching, I reheat them a little and toss them with a little olive oil. Or sometimes, I omit that step. They are just as flavorful eaten without any additions. They also can be sautéed with onion, tossed into scrambled eggs, or baked into quiches or frittatas. Pattie Garrett describes several possibilities for using fiddleheads in her My Saratoga Kitchen Table blog at http://www.mysaratogakitchentable.com/?s=fiddleheads

Here are a few simple preparations for fiddleheads. Enjoy them while they’re fresh and in season:


 

Steamed Fiddleheads

Ingredients

• 5-7 fiddlehead ferns per person
• water for steaming
• optional: butter or oil; salt, pepper, lemon juice

Directions

1. Clean fiddleheads.

2. Place about one inch of water in a pot and heat. Insert a steamer basket and add fiddleheads, or place fiddleheads directly in water.

3. Steam with lid on the pot for approximately 5-7 minutes until fiddleheads are tender but still crisp.

4. Toss with oil, spices, or lemon juice if desired and serve.


 

Sauteed Fiddleheads

IMG_6343a-Copyweb

Ingredients

• 5-7 fiddlehead ferns per person
• butter or oil

Directions

1. Clean fiddleheads according to directions above.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan and add clean and dried fiddleheads.

3. Lower heat to medium-low and cook, tossing fiddleheads in oil gently with two wooden spoons for about 5-7 minutes.

4. Season with salt and pepper if desired, and serve.


 

Fiddlehead Frittata

(adapted from a recipe by wild foods expert Langdon Cook)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup fiddleheads, cleaned and blanched in boiling water for a few minutes
• 1 onion (or a couple of wild ramps), chopped
• 6 eggs
• ½ cup yogurt
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Whisk eggs and yogurt in a mixing bowl.

3. Heat oil in a skillet, add onion and toss over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until onions are translucent.

4. Add fiddleheads and cook for an additional minute.

5. Add egg mixture, lower heat, season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook on stovetop until eggs are set, then finish off by baking in oven for 7-9 minutes.


 

Fiddleheads and Gruyere with Phyllo Dough

IMG_6282a-Copyweb

Compliments of “My Saratoga Kitchen Table” blog
Author: adapted from Closet Cooking

Serves: 6

Ingredients
•    1 Tablespoon olive oil
•    1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and sliced thinly
•    1 garlic clove, chopped
•    ½ lemon juice
•    3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed as directed on package and cut in half lengthwise
•    2 cup Gruyere, cheese
•    ½ pound fiddleheads, well cleaned and blanched for 3 minutes

Instructions
1.    Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
2.    Add the leek and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes
3.    Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute
4.    Remove from heat, mix in the lemon juice.
5.    Place a sheet of phyllo dough on a greased baking sheet and brush it with oil. Repeat with the remaining sheets each on top of the last.
6.    Sprinkle the leeks over the phyllo followed by the cheese and finally the fiddleheads.
7.    Bake in a preheated 375 degrees oven until the phyllo dough is golden brown, about 10 minutes

Notes: Try substituting pizza crust for phyllo

Nutrition Information
Calories: 284 Fat: 15 Saturated fat: 7 Carbohydrates: 24 Sodium: 261 Protein: 15 Cholesterol: 40

 

 

Filed Under: News, Seasonal Recipes Tagged With: Did You Know, Fiddleheads, Saratoga Farmers' Market Recipes

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