Fresh fiddleheads should be green with no brown bits.

Fiddleheads

Wash the fiddleheads thoroughly, rubbing away any papery scales. Trim the dry-looking ends.

Bring a saucepan full of salted water to the boil. Add the trimmed fiddleheads. Cook for about 7 minutes.

Drain well, then toss in butter. Serve promptly; the bitter taste becomes more pronounced if the fiddleheads are kept waiting.

Serves 2

Arabella Boxer’s Garden Cookbook, 1974, p. 214, Bracken

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