Fiddlehead soup recipe

During the next few weeks (while I'm scouring the woods for fiddleheads) I thought I'd post a few of my favourite fiddlehead recipes.

My fiddlehead soup recipe is a blend of traditional French vichyssoise and good old-fashioned Bay of Fundy fiddlehead soup.

Fiddlehead Soup
1/4 c butter
1 c white ends of leeks, seperated, rinsed, chopped
1/4 c flour
5 c chicken or veg stock
1 lb fiddleheads, cleaned
1 c parnsips, peeled & chopped
1 c celery, leaves & all, chopped
2 c milk
1/4 t (or more) grated nutmeg
salt & fresh pepper to taste

Melt butter in large soup pot. Add leeks, cook at low heat 'til softened but not brown. Blend in flour to make a roux; cooking for 2 minutes at low hear. Whisk in stock in batches. Add fiddleheads, parnsips and celery to pot. Bring to boil, stir, over med. heat. Lower heat, cover, simmer 20 minutes.

Puree soup in blender then return to pot. Heat through when ready to serve. Stir in milk and seasonings. Plain soy milk is an alternate to cow's milk. Not quite as smooth but still good. You may want to pump up the nutmeg & pepper to counteract the slightly nutty taste of soy milk.

(By the way, if you're not really into beating the forest for ferns, fiddleheads are available in produce sections of most Fundy grocery stores).