Last of the Fiddleheads

Fiddlehead ferns were another fun find this week at the Ballard farmers market. They must have a later season here in the Northwest, or perhaps it's cold this year...I feel like they were an early May item back in Chicago. I first tasted them as part of a New Zealand wine dinner and associate them with the other super-springy items served that night, like roasted wild boar with a savory rhubarb and ramp sauce.

Tightly coiled and tasting a bit like asparagus and okra, fiddleheads are lovely paired with brown butter and a citrusy Chenin Blanc. In this case, I sauteed some Campagne-style sausage from Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island...it's a pork sausage with flavors of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, mace and maple. Then I sauteed the fiddleheads in the same pan, tossing them with some chicken stock, fettuccine and shaved Parmesan. Yummy Monday night dinner.