Fiddler on the stove

It's fiddlehead season! Not only is this greenery a beautiful and delicate work of nature for me, it's also synonymous with community and small town relations. One of my first memories is of picking them with my mother and a few of my sisters along a riverbed with other random folks with whom we struck up small conversation. There's also the man I used to buy them from when I was in graduate school - straight from the riverbed to the back of his truck parked on route 2 to my hands. And then there's the old couple in Frederickston, New Brunswick, selling them on the sidewalk in front of their house. Josh and I picked up a bag and had a wonderful meal that night in the little cabin we'd rented in St. Agathe, way up in Northern Maine.

The way I cooked them tonight is the way my mother cooks her greens, with pork fat grease. Normally, she uses salt pork, but all I had on hand was bacon but this works just as well.

What you need: fiddleheads, small potatoes cut in half (optional), half an onion, sliced, and about 2 tbsp of thinly sliced salt pork or bacon.


Put the pork fat in a dutch oven and heat it on medium low until the pieces get crispy and you have enough oil to work with. Remove the crispy pieces from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve for later use.

Sautee the onions for a few minutes and then add the potatoes, if you're going to use them. Cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the fiddleheads, just enough water to barely cover and salt generously. Bring to a boil, cover and drop the temperature to simmer for about half an hour.

Serve hot with the crispy bacon pieces sprinkled on top, either as a side dish with any piece of beef or pork or as a main dish with a side of vegetables and grains, like we did here.