Sautéed Fiddleheads with Shiitake Mushrooms, Garlic, and Ginger
SERVINGS: 4-6
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes
COURSE: Side
Fiddlehead ferns (or the furled fronds of an ostrich fern) take center-stage in this spring recipe. They’re freshly foraged for our markets—sweet, tender, and slightly snappy, with a lovely bright green color that only intensifies after blanching. Here, we’ve paired them with shiitake mushrooms and a hint of garlic and ginger. A quick trip to the sauté pan is all they need. In minutes, you’ll have a fresh side dish full of seasonal flavor.
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 lb. cleaned and trimmed fiddlehead ferns
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- ½-¾ lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced or quartered
- 2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 tsp. chopped garlic
Instructions
- Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water close by.
- Blanch the cleaned fiddlehead ferns for 2-3 minutes. Strain from the pot and put into the ice water to stop the vegetables from cooking. Drain and dry the fiddlehead ferns with a paper towel.
- In a large sauté pan, heat 1 Tbs1p. of olive oil on high heat. Add the shiitakes and sauté until golden-brown, about 3-5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining oil, blanched fiddleheads, ginger, and garlic. Sauté an additional 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Begin Each Recipe with the Finest Seafood
Citarella owner, Joe Gurrera has 7 rules when it comes to cooking seafood. The first rule is to begin with the freshest, highest quality ingredients. And at Citarella, we have been bringing in the best for over a century. Whether it’s right out of the Atlantic, fresh from the Pacific, or sourced from one of the world’s most principled seafood farms, if it’s sold at Citarella, it’s the finest seafood available on the market today. Period.
