Fiddlehead Fern and Mushroom Soup
2 C. cleaned fiddlehead ferns, large ones cut in half
2 C. crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 T. olive oil
2 large long white or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed into small bite sized pieces
1/2 C. sweet onion, finely diced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Bring the stock to a boil in a soup kettle. Add the potatoes, onion and thyme. Cook on a low boil, covered until the potatoes are very, very tender – this takes me from 20 to 25 minutes. While doing that, in a large skillet, sauté the sliced mushrooms, ferns and garlic in the olive oil with a generous sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper for about 1 minute. Add two large spoons of stock, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover, stir and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. At this point, the mushrooms and ferns should be cooked. Add the lemon juice and taste for salt and pepper. Note: if not making a soup – this is a wonderful side dish as-is! Set aside until the potatoes are done. When the potatoes are very tender (at the point of mushy) take off the heat, remove the thyme stems if using fresh and allow to cool off for a few minutes. Carefully cream with the immersion blender (or do so in batches in a food processor). Avoid splashing the hot liquid on yourself! Add half the fern/mushroom mixture, and again with the immersion blender, whiz down into small pieces. Add the remaining fern/mushrooms, stir and taste for salt and pepper. This process will give you a creamy textured, full bodied yet low-fat soup. If cooled down too much, heat on low until just heated through and serve. Enjoy!
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