I took a trip up to Singh Meadows in Tempe AZ and picked up some amazing produce. Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet mushrooms are hard to come by and are highly prized by food lovers. You cook fiddle head ferns sort of like asparagus but longer. You MUST clean the fiddle head ferns very well and you have to cook them completely because they contain some sort of toxin that you have to cook all the way out. I read that if you boil them for 5 minutes that is enough so that is how I cooked mine. I think the sauces I picked go really well with this dish. This makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb fiddlehead ferns – cleaned really well

6 oz black trumpet mushrooms – cleaned

1 oz unsalted butter

1/4 cup tahini (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil (tahini verde)

ice water (I didn’t measure but I think it was around 1/4 cup) (tahini verde)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (tahini verde)

pinch ground white pepper (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons white miso (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon sour cream or greek yogurt (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon mayonaise (miso aioli)

1 teaspoon garlic confit (miso aioli)

small splash rice wine vinegar (around a teaspoon or 2) (miso aioli)

sea salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

optional – white and black sesame seeds to finish

Directions

Make the sauces.

For the tahini verde blend together the tahini, tarragon, cilantro, Thai basil, sea salt and white pepper. You will need to add ice water to get it to the right consistency. I think I used around 1/4 cup off ice water. Put this to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Make the miso aioli. In a small bowl combine the miso, sour cream, mayo, garlic confit and rice wine vinegar. Mix well. Set to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Get a pot of water to boil the fiddlehead ferns. Medium boil them for 5 minutes. Shock them with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the fiddlehead ferns and put them on a serving platter. I used the same pot to cook up my mushrooms. I dumped the water out and melted the butter and then added the mushrooms. I cooked them till they looked cooked. Then I dumped the mushrooms and all the mushroomy butter all over the fiddlehead ferns. I served the sauces on the side and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. I also added a few white and black sesame seeds.

ENJOY!