As you all know, I love the Farmer's Market. Do you go there? Because you should. I went a little veggie-crazy and bought some ramps, asparagus, zucchini, apples and fiddlehead ferns. I lugged them across two boroughs to bring them home and cook them into this dish.
Fiddlehead Fern Pasta
1 pint fiddlehead ferns
5 or 6 ramps (green and white parts, all sliced up)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 pound pasta (I used quinoa pasta - love it!)
olive oil
salt/pepper
red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese
It occurs to me that some of you out there are thinking "Ramps? Fiddlehead ferns? What the heck are those?" Well, here they are.
Ramps look kinda like scallions and taste kinda like onions mixed with garlic. They're really good. You can eat the whole veggie, just like a leek. Fiddlehead ferns are just crazy little green things that are delicious.
1. Cook your pasta according to package directions. You can do that, right? Because I don't have any pictures for you. Set it aside.
2. Heat your oil in a pan over medium heat. Toss in some red pepper flakes. If you're a wimp who doesn't like spicy food, don't put in too many. If you love spicy things, put in more. Throw in the white part of the ramps and soften them, like you would an onion.
3. Add your fiddlehead ferns and saute them for a few minutes.
After a few minutes, they seemed a little crunchy, so I added some chicken broth. If you're my dad and you're thinking "why are you ruining these vegetables with chicken broth?" you could add some veggie broth or white wine or even some water. I let the chicken broth cook down for a minute or two.
4. Add the green parts of the ramps. I don't chop them very small, but feel free to if you like that better. Let them wilt like spinach. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper.
5. Add the pasta and some more olive oil. Mix it up good.
Here's where I get a little extravagant.
I've had this tiny bottle of truffle oil that I got on sale in Napa with my friend Donna that I never use. But tonight? What the hell. I put a little bit on top. And then I added some cheese. Insane! But there are a lot of veggies in here, so I figured it was okay. If you don't have truffle oil, it's still really good. Enjoy!
5 comments:
Yum yum- I go to the farmaer's market! But I think you already knew that. I was at DC's farmer's market and there were no fiddleheads, so I'm jealous, because I'll probably miss the window- we'll see.
Hey Lena, If you're not veggie-ed out, we'd love to have you submit a mushroom recipe to our recipe contest. The winner will be mailed 2 lbs. of fresh morel mushrooms! I'd love to see one incorporating fiddleheads or ramps if you have one! The contest is at MarxFoods.com
PS. OMG - thanks for sharing your flake recipe. I'd pass up veggies any day for chocolate and caramel! Luckily - I get to have it all.
Cool! I will do that. I feel special now.
Lena
Hello from Oakland, CA. I really enjoy reading your blog. It keeps me up to speed on your doings AND I learned about two vegetables I had never heard of before.
I don't have to tell you the fun we are having at the Grand Lake Farmers Market - beautiful fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Leila
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