Fiddlehead, Dandelion & Sea Salt Frittata

The greens in this recipe are at their tender best in the early spring.  Keep a close eye out for them as the ground starts to sprout and savor this breakfast dish while the vegetables are fresh picked.


Dandelion greens

 1/2 cup fiddleheads, washed & prepared as described below
1/2 cup dandelion greens
1 T butter

2 fireweed shoots, finely chopped

2 eggs
Smoked sea salt

Heat burner to medium.  In a single sized skillet, melt butter until bubbly.  Saute the washed and prepared fiddleheads until almost tender.  Add dandelion greens and cook until wilted, stirring often.  Add fireweed shoots and stir.  Crack eggs over the fiddleheads and greens, break the yolks, then cook until the underside is firm and lightly browned.  Flip frittata and cook until done.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Serve with toasted whole wheat bagel or a side of quinoa.

Harvesting and Preparation Tips

Harvest fiddleheads before they reach this stage

Fiddleheads
Harvest the fiddleheads by snapping the stalk off as deeply into the fern wad as possible.  You may need to pull last year's fronds back to expose the new growth.  If the fiddleheads look like the ones in this photograph (right), you've waited too long.

Run cool water gently over the fiddleheads to clean, rubbing the brown papery coating off with your finger.  The photo below shows the densely curled fiddleheads - perfect for eating.

Dandlelion Greens

Pick leaves before flowers buds have formed.  Handle and wash as you would spinach or lettuce leaves.

Fireweed Shoots

Harvest when the shoots are about 3" tall and just before or as the leaves begin to unfurl.  Wash very gently under running water.  Shoots may also be added to salads.

Fiddleheads, dandelion greens, and fireweed shoots will keep in the fridge for a day or two, but eat them as quickly as possible for best results.



Hot frittata!