Hello everyone, Jess here. What a busy week it has been!
Folks are in full swing planting at the Westford Community Garden, as well as gardens at home! Click here to read the list of Springdell plants available for your home garden. As these are all grown at Springdell, there is a limited supply of each so grab yours today!
Photo by Jamie Cruz
Springdell has been busy releasing the ladybugs this week, nature’s soldiers in the war against weeds and plant disease. Here’s hoping for a good year!
Pea shoots! This favorite springtime plant sprout is popping up all over the Fresh Start Food Gardens in Westford.
I wanted to touch base about fiddleheads today. (Please check out this Creamy Spring Soup, which is my most favorite thing I’ve ever done with fiddleheads and asparagus.) If you are new to the world of fiddleheads, they closely resemble the taste profile of asparagus while changing up the texture. Feel free to try them in any recipe in which you’d try asparagus, (only be sure to give them a safety cook as they’ve been known to carry food borne illness). I’m definitely not going to advise you not to boil your fiddleheads for a full 10-12 minutes as suggested by the industry, but I will say that I’ve been known to steam mine for a minute or two before sautéing in Amish Roll Butter and thus far lived to tell the tale. At your own risk, my fellow Springdellians!
For best taste, consume your fiddleheads within a couple of days. The one in the photo above has a brown film which, if it doesn’t immediately peel off revealing a fresh green and tightly packed set of leaves, you’ll want to avoid. Luckily, this was the only example in the bag I could find of a fiddlehead starting to go past it’s prime. The rest were fabulous!
Today this isn’t as much a recipe for the fiddleheads as it is for a concept. I’m a sucker for a good hollandaise and something about dijon and fiddleheads is an enjoyable combination in my opinion. Hollandaise, however, is a personal experience. Whether making it in a blender or whisking it by hand, whatever gets you from start to finish without a broken sauce is great! Tonight’s I made with a whisk, a couple of egg yolks, and some clarified butter and a bit of lemon juice.
Once the sauce was thickened I added a spoonful of dijon. If you go with a blender version, you can do the same thing, adding the mustard and other seasonings at the very end.
Poach an egg in boiling water for 4 minutes before placing it on your prepared bed of fiddleheads. Lastly, top the egg and fiddleheads with sauce.
Yup, spring is officially here, and I for one am grateful.