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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Asparagus and Fiddleheads with Shaved Dryad Saddle

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Asparagus and fiddleheads with shaved dryad saddle mushroomsThis week I’ve been working on a side that evokes spring and also happens to be a great way to use those dryad saddles/pheasant back mushrooms that come up with abandon in the Spring.

I was in the kitchen wondering what to do with some fiddleheads Hidden Stream Farm brought me, and I wound up putting on a simple dish of fiddles and asparagus, both cooked on the grill and finished with some ramp leaves, a little duo of shoots, if you will.

I had the same ingredients at home and thought they’d be a good vehicle to showcase my favorite way to cook dryad saddle mushrooms: shaved paper thin on a mandoline and warmed up until they wilt with something from the onion family.

On the day I shot this, the onion was a handful of ramps, but a good sub would be green spring onions (different from scallions) or even better: green garlic.

Removing the pores of a dryad saddle or pheasant back mushroom

I like to scrape the pores off with the back of a knife , then shave as thin as possible on a mandolin.

If you read “sauteed asparagus and fiddleheads with mushrooms” on a menu, you might think of a one-pan dish, with everything tossed together, or maybe whole spears and fiddles, which is how I was serving it.

As I was watched some people share the dish though (which I envisioned for 1-2 people) I noticed that they had to stop and slice the asparagus, which made for what I thought was some awkward sharing at the table. No one said anything, and everyone raved about the dish, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved on, logistically speaking.

Cutting the asparagus on the oblique, or roll cut, gives a nice shape, and also make the dish easier to scoop and share at the table. I’m really happy with the simplicity of it, and I’m going to keep it in rotation for a while.

Cutting asparagus on the oblique, or roll cut.

The oblique, or roll cut, made by cutting a bias slice, then rotating the circular ingredient 90 degrees and slicing on the bias again, to create 2 different facets.

As far as the dryad saddles, shaving them paper thin on a mandoline will change how you think of these, if they’re something you’ve taken the time to pick, bring home, cook, and toss in the garbage like so many of us have that hunt mushrooms.

Just make sure you’re dryad saddles are reasonably young, see more about that in my post here. When slicing on the mandolin, I like to hold them by the stem, since once you start slicing into it, if it’s too tough, it will catch naturally on the blade and tell you to stop.

Using two pans

Asparagus and fiddleheads with shaved dryad saddle mushrooms

Using two separate pans helps to highlight each ingredient. The asparagus and fiddles blend perfectly together, but I prefer the dryad saddles cooked by themselves (with a touch of oniony something) since I think the flavor is better when they stew in their own juices.

If you cooked everything together in the same pan, it wouldn’t be the same dish at all, it’s funny how such a simple thing can change how a dish tastes.

After cooking, the dryad saddles are spooned with their juices on top of the asparagus and fiddles, making it so the flavors blend in your mouth as you chew, instead of in the pan.

The taste of the fiddles and the dryad saddles together is great-they’re both earthy, a little funky, and a special flavor of spring not a lot of people will get to taste.

Asparagus and fiddleheads with shaved dryad saddle mushrooms recipe

Asparagus and fiddleheads with shaved dryad saddle mushrooms
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Asparagus and Fiddleheads with Shaved Dryad Saddle

Quick-cooked asparagus with fiddleheads and dryad saddle mushrooms
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Asparagus, Dryad Saddle, Fiddleheads

Ingredients

  • 4 large spears of asparagus cut on the oblique
  • 3 small ramps leaves sliced 1/2 inch, stem sliced 1/4 inch
  • 1/2 cup fiddlehead ferns (a couple handfuls) stems trimmed to 2-3 inches in length
  • 1 cup dryad saddle mushrooms pores scraped and shaved on a mandoline, loosely packed
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or light bodied lard like duck or chicken fat
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat equal parts of the oil in an 8 inch saute pan and a 6 inch saute pan. Add the asparagus to one pan, cook for a minutes or two and lightly brown on medium heat, then add the fiddleheads and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring occasionally and seasoning.
  • Meanwhile, sweat the ramp bulbs in the small saute pan a tablespoon of butter and the shaved dryad saddle, season to taste and cook on medium low, until they're cooked, wilted and steaming. The mushrooms should stew in their own liquid with the ramps, but not color.
  • When the fiddleheads and asparagus are hot throughout, and the mushrooms are wilted and have released their water, toss the asparagus with the ramp leaves quickly just to wilt, double check the seasoning of both pans, adjust as needed, then mound the asparagus on a warmed serving dish, top with a line of the dryad saddle mushrooms and serve immediately, with a squeeze of fresh lemon on the side if you want.

More 

Fiddlehead Ferns: Identifying, Harvesting and Cooking

Related

Previous Post: « Dryad Saddle Relish
Next Post: Violets »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joanne Burnett

    May 19, 2018 at 10:15 am

    We just had some good rain and the fungi that grow on dead and drying tree are popping up everywhere. I think I’ve seen these and wondered if they were edible. I love that you share recipes and ways to fix various mushrooms. Thank you for sharing .
    Joanne Burnett

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 19, 2018 at 3:40 pm

      Thank you and you’re welcome, enjoy your dryad saddles.

      Reply
  2. Judy Krohn

    May 20, 2018 at 10:06 am

    Hello Alan: we met at the wild foods dinner at Forage in Eau Claire a couple of weeks ago. This post came in really handy yesterday as I was getting ready for a foraging cooking class in my neighborhood. I had the fiddleheads and the asparagus and some ramps to do a side dish, along with a couple of pheasant backs to show folks what they looked like. Your post about them was so informative to me (and to them) about how to tell which ones will be “cookable” based on the appearance of the gills. I added the better one to the mix last night, and had another with my own breakfast scramble this morning. Thanks for your inspiration!!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 22, 2018 at 10:55 am

      Glad you liked them Judy.

      Reply
  3. Dan

    May 21, 2018 at 6:45 pm

    I gave this a try tonght as a side with a gorgeous Mangalitsa pork chop. I found it to be very unsettling trying to slice the mushrooms on the mandoline, so resorted to making a find julienne, which had the same effect without the risk to my fingertips. I’m still not sure how fond I am of the taste of Dryads, but this was the best use of them that I’ve found so far.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      May 22, 2018 at 10:54 am

      Cut them however you like, as long as they’re nice and thin (and young), they should work. This was my favorite so far, too.

      Reply
  4. Julian

    April 24, 2019 at 10:36 am

    I see in this post with the dryad saddle that you used a mandoline for slicing. I know this is more a cooking and foraging website but could you recommend a good mandoline as a first time purchase? There are a lot of brands out there and what I don’t want is to buy something hard to use or that will break in a year or two. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      April 24, 2019 at 12:05 pm

      Hi Julian. Of course. What you want is the green Benriner model. They’re discontinued the old version, and are now selling and promoting a newew one at about 50% more than they cost before. Here’s a link to the one I use. The new model is white, and you’ll see it on Amazon. Benriner is the model all the chefs use, don’t buy one of the 100+ models (I have) they’re just too bulky and cumbersome. This link will show you the version I use, but if you want to spend 40$, the new model should be very good too. -ALAN https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000VZ57C/ref=psdc_289783_t1_B004K6S0PC

      Reply
  5. scott siple

    May 19, 2019 at 10:44 am

    I like your site and am new to foraging but this recipe sounds delicious.

    Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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