Another ingredient that is available during spring is the fiddlehead fern and the last few years I have been enjoying experimenting with them. Fiddlehead ferns are young ferns that are picked before the frond has opened. They are commonly used as a vegetable and their flavour can be compared to that of asparagus. This year I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the fiddleheads, a savoury fiddlehead tart! For the base of the tart I used sheets of phyllo dough and I topped them with some sauted leeks with a bit of garlic and then I covered everything with a layer of gruyere cheese followed by the fiddlehead ferns themselves. I like using phyllo pastry for tarts like this as it bakes up nice and light and flakey and golden brown which is perfect for a light spring meal.
Fiddlehead and Gruyere Tart
A fiddlehead and leek tart covered in melted gruyere on a light and flaky, golden brown phyllo crust.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and sliced thinly
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juice
- 3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed as directed on package and cut in half lengthwise
- * olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup gruyere, grated
- 1/2 pound fiddleheads, well cleaned and blanched for 3 minutes
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the leek and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Remove from heat, mix in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- Place a sheet of the phyllo dough on a greased baking sheet and brush it with oil. Repeat with the remaining sheets each on top of the last.
- Sprinkle the leeks over the phyllo followed by the cheese and finally the fiddleheads.
- Bake in a preheated 375F/190C oven until the phyllo dough is golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
Asparagus and Gruyere Tart
Zucchini and Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Parmesan Tart
Ham and Leek Tart
Fiddlehead Carbonara
Fiddlehead Shrimp Scampi
Wild Leek and Double Smoked Bacon Tart
Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
Mushroom and Feta Phyllo Pie
Kolokithopita (Greek Zucchini Pie)
Agginaropita (Greek Artichoke Pie)
Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel with Balsamic Syrup
Tomato Tart
Baklava
Apple and Cheddar Quiche
Galaktoboureko (Greek Custard Pie)
Chicken and Date Pastilla
Asparagus and Walnut Phyllo Pie (aka Asparagus Baklava) with Avgolemono Sauce
Roasted Pumpkin Quiche with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola and Sage
Strawberry Goat Cheese Banitsa
Lamb Exohiko (Lamb, Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Phyllo Parcels)
Jen H says
June 7, 2011 at 11:50 pmI love fiddleheads and pairing them with nutty gruyere and a buttery shell sounds heavenly to me!
Shannon says
June 7, 2011 at 11:56 pmI LOVE this. Not only does it look and sound delicious but it is so well executed it looks like a piece of art!
jillian says
June 8, 2011 at 12:15 amI have actually never made fiddleheads. This tart looks like the perfect use to show off their shape.
Leah says
June 8, 2011 at 1:16 amI've never heard of fiddlehead ferns before. But this tart looks fantastic! I think ill try it with spinach!
anniebakes says
June 8, 2011 at 1:32 amTHAT looks fabulous! love fiddle heads! anne
giz says
June 8, 2011 at 1:54 amNow that just looks like art, not to mention really interesting. You've inspired me – I'm seeing fiddleheads everywhere these days.
Missie says
June 8, 2011 at 2:00 amThis is beautiful!
--JamJam says
June 8, 2011 at 2:58 amWhat a whimsical vegetable. I've never had fiddleheads and have never even seen them before this recipe. Strange! I wonder where I can find them here in California..
Katelyn Likes This says
June 8, 2011 at 4:12 amIt looks like a fiddlehead pizza! So cute
Lemons and Anchovies says
June 8, 2011 at 5:55 amThis is beautiful! I've never seen fiddleheads used this way–love it. The tart looks perfect and of course, one can never go wrong with gruyere. Love!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
June 8, 2011 at 5:55 amSo pretty! I'd love to taste fiddleheads.
Cheers,
Rosa
chriesi says
June 8, 2011 at 8:15 amLove it! I always miss the right moment to pick some fiddleheads.
Food Glorious Food! says
June 8, 2011 at 9:19 amI love the unique taste of fiddlehead. Great for Asian stir frying as well. yummy!
Joanne says
June 8, 2011 at 9:23 amI didn't do ANYTHING with fiddleheads this year and I'm kind of regretting it after seeing this tart!
Lora says
June 8, 2011 at 10:39 amAbsolutely gorgeous mouthwatering tart!
Da & Mer says
June 8, 2011 at 12:09 pmIdeal! se ve deliciosa!
Saludos Da & Mer
Isabelle @ Crumb says
June 8, 2011 at 1:27 pmThis tart sounds like it would be a fabulous appetizer for a party!
Fiddleheads are one of my favourite spring ingredients, and I bet they go a treat with Gruyere (plus, you can never go wrong with puff pastry. Never.)
Kate says
June 8, 2011 at 1:36 pmBeautiful! I tasted fiddleheads for the first time a few years ago. They were delicious. I love this idea..looks so good.
d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo says
June 8, 2011 at 4:06 pmSo beautiful! Growing up in New England I loved fiddlehead fern season – it was so exciting to get to use a new ingredient that I could only get during a small window of time. Since I moved down to DC I haven't seen them! Hopefully they'll still be in season when I make it home to visit my folks in a couple weeks.
Kristy Lynn says
June 8, 2011 at 4:55 pmI saw fiddleheads the other day at the market and was like what the ef is that??? They looked like funny little wormy bugs. I was afraid to touch them. haha…
Thanks for the recipe – I'll see what I can do!
Anonymous says
June 8, 2011 at 5:03 pmLOVE this! So tasty looking.
Jeanne @ CookSister! says
June 8, 2011 at 5:57 pmOh Kevin, I am in love with that frst pic! More like a piece of abstract art than an edible dish – thimk Miro does dinner 😉 I've nevr tried fiddleheads myself but woud love to some day as I love asparagus…
Recipe contests says
June 8, 2011 at 6:02 pmNever had fiddleheads before (that I knew of anyway), but I love Gruyere cheese. Not only does this recipe sound good, but look how you coiled those greens. So cute! May have to try this tart out sometime this week. Thanks for sharing!
Take care,
–Chelsey
Kate@katescakesandbakes says
June 8, 2011 at 6:07 pmI too have never heard of fiddleheads- the old adage of learning something new each day is so true- but I live the name and the tart looks AMAZINGGG! Really enjoying reading the blog, thank you!
Jennifurla says
June 8, 2011 at 7:29 pmNever even heard of this fern before, how neat.
Steve Finnell says
June 8, 2011 at 9:22 pmyou are invited to follow my blog
cajunlicious says
June 8, 2011 at 9:25 pmThis is almost too pretty to eat.
Anniegi says
June 9, 2011 at 2:36 amOh Kevin….. Wow! this looks like something I could eat the whole tart in ONE sitting! I love how you take the most minimal & simplest ingredients & create culinary magic. thank you, thank you.
Honey says
June 9, 2011 at 4:46 amwow, i've never seen this before.. looks so interesting. nice job! gorgeous pictures. 🙂
cautionhotdish says
June 9, 2011 at 1:57 pmMmmm… looks amazing! I love fiddleheads and so need to try this!!!
Charlie says
June 9, 2011 at 2:50 pmHi Kevin!
Now this I will definitely make!
I love fiddleheads and am always looking for new recipes.
CharlesR says
June 9, 2011 at 2:53 pmLeah: Don't shy away from fiddleheads because you have never tried them.
Give them a try! You won't regret it.
And as Jen says, the nutty flavour of fiddleheads and the nutty gruyere is a perfect pairing.
Jenn says
June 9, 2011 at 4:47 pmOMG! I love fiddleheads. Do you have any suggestions on where to find them? I haven't had them since my grandmother used to can them when I was little in Northern Ontario.
pj says
June 9, 2011 at 7:33 pmremember to cook fiddleheads really well – no one wants to get fiddlehead fern poisoning. blech.
Kevin says
June 9, 2011 at 8:07 pmJenn: Your best bet to find them will probably be at a local farmers market. I know that several companies also freeze them so you might be able to find them in the frozen food section at a grocery store. (I have never seen them frozen…)
Kevin says
June 9, 2011 at 8:10 pmPj: Yes fiddleheads need to be well cleaned and well cooked but you also don't want to cook them until they are mushy.
homegrown countrygirl says
June 9, 2011 at 10:51 pmYour photos and recipes are always awesome but this one is simply beautiful… you've really outdone yourself! What a treat!
BWak says
June 12, 2011 at 8:08 amI've never seen fiddleheads before. Sounds like an amazing creation… I'm off to farmers market then!
Salome says
June 12, 2011 at 8:30 amI love your post and I has included it in my sunday post, you can see it at
http://blocderecetas.blogspot.com/2011/06/mis-favoritas-semana-23-2011.html
I hope you to like it!
Krasja says
June 12, 2011 at 1:49 pmThis is just great!
emiglia says
June 13, 2011 at 12:28 amThis is a very pretty tart! I still haven't tried fiddleheads, but I love the way they look.
bellini says
June 16, 2011 at 11:11 amTheir perfectly scrolled shape looks amazing on a flatbread!
Twin Tables says
June 22, 2011 at 11:58 pmThese pictures are awesome. I don't know why but fiddleheads make me smile!
Colorful Canary says
May 6, 2015 at 9:43 pmGreat recipe! I featured on my blog 🙂 http://www.colorfulcanary.com/2015/05/14-fabulous-fiddlehead-recipes-eat-wild.html