In Season Now! Morels and Fiddleheads on Weekend Morning with Kerän Sanders

I had the pleasure of presenting local fiddleheads and morel mushrooms on CBC Weekend morning with Kerän Sanders.

Morel Mushroom Port Pan Sauce

1/2 onion, small dice or 2-3 finely chopped shallots
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 sprig rosemary
1 cup morels, whole or sliced
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/2 cup port, approximate amount
salt and pepper, to taste

Sauté onion until translucent in butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add rosemary and morel mushrooms and cook until soft. Stir in mustard and then add port, salt and pepper. You can add a bit more butter at the end. Spoon over grilled meats that are resting after grilling. Enjoy.

*For a white sauce option for fish or chicken, add cream to the recipe and use white wine instead of port. Grated nutmeg is also a nice flavour for the sauce.

*Adding butter at the end of the recipe can thicken the sauce nicely.


Fiddleheads in Brown Butter with Pancetta

Kosher salt
3 pounds fiddle head ferns, trimmed and washed
1/4 lb chopped pancetta
6 tablespoons brown butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly nutmeg


1. In a large pot bring 2 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Fill a medium bowl halfway with ice water. Drop the fiddleheads into the pot and cook for 1 minute. Drain the fiddleheads in a colander, then submerge in the ice water until completely cool. Let the fiddleheads drain well in a colander and wrap them in a clean kitchen towel to dry.
2. Slowly brown butter in a large skillet. Bring up to higher temperature and cook chopped pancetta.
3.Heat for a minute or two until they are warm, then divide the fiddleheads among the plates. Serve at once as a side dish or on Chinese soup spoons as an appetizer.

Enjoy!

Fiddleheads from BC are available at DeLuca's on Portage and local Manitoba fiddleheads are available through Fresh Option Organic Delivery.