Fiddlehead Fern Salad with Phillips Enoki
Fiddlehead ferns (the beginning stage of certain edible ferns) are available from early April to the end of June from various parts of the country. Some people pick their own, but you must be careful because several varieties of fern are toxic. Only buy them from a reliable commercial source. Early Fiddleheads tend to be somewhat bitter and do not lose that characteristic on cooking. The later Fiddleheads are sweeter tasting with a light anise character. The ends tend to dry and blacken, so snip these off.

Ingredients: The Fiddleheads
* 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
* 1⁄2 cup white wine vinegar
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* Generous mixture of fresh herbs such as savory, rosemary, thyme
* 1⁄2 cup finely shopped onion
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 64 Fiddlehead Ferns (about 1⁄2 pound)

The Sauce
* 1 (8 ounce) can of beets, with liquid
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
* 1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
* salt

The Garnish
* 1⁄2 cup Phillips Enoki mushrooms
* 8 small sprigs lovage or parsley

Preparation:
Two days ahead, combine the vegetable oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, herbs, onion, garlic and whisk vigorously. Set aside. The marinade is best left for a day or two while it absorbs the flavor of the herbs.
Wash the fiddleheads thoroughly and snip off any black ends. Place ferns in a saucepan that will fit them and add about 1⁄2 inch water in to the pan. Heat over medium heat until water begins to boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and steam the fiddleheads until they are tender but still crunchy, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and plunge ferns into ice water to stop cooking. Remove from water after 5 minutes and set aside.
Strain the marinade to remove the herb pieces. Pour it over the ferns, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Process the beets, onion powder, red wine vinegar, and chile in a blender until completely smooth. This sauce should be somewhat thick but easy to dispense from a mustard or ketchup squeeze container with a fairly thin spout head. Place the sauce in a container and refrigerate.
Remove the ferns from the marinade and drain on paper towels. Arrange on a plate in the form of a grape cluster, beginning with 5 at the top, then 4 in the nest row in the spaces from the top row, then 3 in the next row, in the spaces from the previous row, finishing with a single large fern at the bottom. There should be 15 fiddleheads per plate, with an additional one pulled out to simulate a stem in the middle of the top row.
From the plastic ketchup container, dispense the beet sauce around the bottom half of the fern cluster . Sprinkle with the Phillips Enoki mushrooms, and arrange the lovage sprigs at the base of the "stem" and the top of the first row to simulate leaves. Serve immediately because the sauce will bleed a thin liquid if left to stand.

Serves 4