Wild fiddlehead fern season - so short - is upon us and coincides with the tail end of Meyer lemon season. It made sense (to me anyway) to celebrate them together and this creamy, lemony pasta is a very good way to do so. It tastes like a high-end pasta dish, a spring carbonara of sorts, yet is very quick and easy to make. Not counting the time it took to boil the water, this was on the table in about 15 minutes. It is also not such an expensive dish since, in the case of fiddlehead ferns, a little goes a long way and price reflects that.
If you haven't had the chance to try fiddlehead ferns yet and see them at the market, give them a go. They appear for a few short weeks to herald in spring and then disappear for another year. I think they taste a bit like asparagus, but slightly more earthy, with pleasant bitter notes. You can substitute regular lemons if you don't have Meyer lemons to hand. I like Meyer lemons because they add a floral taste to any dish that other lemons don't, but this would still be really, really good with basic lemons.
8 oz fiddlehead ferns
4 portions pasta of your choice (I find pasta portions are very subjective so tend to let people decide their own)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg yolk
Zest from 2 Meyer lemons, juice from 1
Start heating a pot of salted water in order to cook your pasta.
in a separate saucepan, bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil. As soon as the water boils, add the fiddlehead ferns, which you will have previously washed very well and trimmed the ends. Boil for 3 minutes, drain and place in a bowl of iced water to keep from cooking further. Drain well and set aside.
Mix the sour cream. Parmesan, egg yolk and lemon zest and juice together to form a thick paste. Set aside.
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain well and add back to the pan in which it cooked.
Quickly add the sour cream mixture and stir well to combine. The residual heat will cook the egg and warm the other ingredients through. Once each piece or strand of pasta has a glossy sheen of sauce, toss with the fiddlehead ferns and serve at once.
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