Fiddleheads, emblematic of spring, are picked by hand from the end of April to the end of May. Their taste is somewhat reminiscent of asparagus. You must be careful when consuming them: they cannot be eaten raw, due to a toxin they contain which causes digestive discomfort. It is therefore important to clean them and cook them well: remove all the brown parts (scales included) and wash them with plenty of water. You also need to boil them before frying them. Proper preparation and cooking destroy the toxins they contain and ensure a delicious spring meal!
Ingredients
Serves 4 as a side dish
Sauce:
- 1 cup of heavy (35%) cream
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 10g dehydrated chanterelles
- 1 pinch of salt
Fiddleheads:
- 500 g of well-cleaned fiddleheads
- A finely chopped shallot
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Cream and chanterelle sauce
- Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat for around twenty minutes. The cream should never boil.
- After 20 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. If the sauce is to your liking, filter it with a sieve, put the bay leaf in the compost and keep the mixture of chanterelles and garlic.
- In a hot pan, melt the butter and fry the chanterelle and garlic mixture until it becomes crispy. Reserve.
Fiddleheads
- Boil the fiddleheads in water for 5 minutes*. This step ensures the destruction of toxins that can cause certain digestive discomforts. Discard the cooking water, rinse the fiddleheads and drain them.
- In a hot cast iron pan, melt the butter, add the shallot and sweat for 1 minute. Add the fiddleheads and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to sauté them for too long, the fiddleheads have a delicate texture and they must be cooked just enough.
* Local health authorities recommend cooking for 15 minutes, but in our experience, this is too much: the fiddleheads come out soft and mushy.
On your plate, place the fiddleheads, cover them with sauce and add the crispy chanterelles on top. Season with a little Québec salt flakes to finish. Enjoy your food!
