Fiddlehead Soup
Spring's best fiddlehead soup is a satisfying way to fill up your tummy at lunch.
Tender spring fiddleheads and vegetables in a savoury broth swimming with vermicelli noodles. This vegan soup is one of my favourite ways to enjoy fiddleheads.
For anyone unfamiliar with fiddleheads, they have a "spring green" sort of flavour that's a bit nutty and akin to a cross between asparagus and baby spinach. All fiddleheads must be cooked. Though the ones you can buy at the grocer are edible, they still have a mild toxicity when raw. It's also best not to overindulge either as eating large quantities can cause digestive upset.
Despite that, these are always on my spring shopping list, and I look forward to their appearance each year. Once you try them, I hope you will too.
Ingredients
(Makes 4 servings)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons plant-based butter
4 large (100g) white mushrooms, sliced
1 stalk leek, sliced
1/2 large (100g) white turnip, sliced
1 heaping cup (100g) fiddleheads, rinsed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup (100g) fresh parsley, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
200g fresh vermicelli rice noodles
green onion, chopped (optional)
red chili pepper, chopped (optional)
Directions
In a medium soup pot over medium-high heat, add the extra-virgin olive oil and butter. Once the butter is foaming, add the mushrooms, leek, turnip, and fiddleheads. Sauté until the mushrooms lose most of their water. Add the garlic and ginger then continue sautéing for an additional minute. Add coriander, salt, ground black pepper, and parsley. Continue sautéing until parsley becomes soft (about 3 minutes).
Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering until the leek, turnip, and fiddleheads are tender (about 20 minutes). Add the rice noodles and increase temperature to medium-high to return to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve with (optional) chopped green onions and red chili pepper.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
total calories = 133 | total fat = 4.76g | saturated fat = 0.84g | cholesterol = 0mg | sodium = 342.51mg | net carbohydrates = 14.7g | dietary fibre = 4.97g | sugars = 2.08g | protein = 3.63g
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