Try this @home: Spring Vegetable Ragu

The beautiful and some might say mutant-looking fiddlehead fern is a culinary symbol of spring.

With a flavor reminicscent of nutty asparagus, the young, unfurled fern is a delicacy, particularly in the Northeast.

It grows along riverbeds and is harvested in May and early June.

And, like all vegetables, especially those eaten in season, fiddleheads are good for you. They're loaded with antioxidants, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, iron and fiber.

While fiddleheads will be on menus across the city for the next few weeks, they are also quite easy to prepare at home.

Julio Genao, Executive Chef at Casa Nonna (310 W. 38th St., 212-736-3000) prepares a spring vegetable ragu as a side dish at the restaurant.

"Spring is a time to cleanse from the heavier foods and more sedentary lifestyle of winter," he said. "It is when our body naturally wants to begin eating lighter, refreshing foods."

Spring is also a time of rebirth, and as good a time as any to take control of your diet.

Here's a good place to begin.

Spring Vegetable Ragu with fiddlehead ferns

½ cup fiddlehead ferns

¼ cup fava beans; blanched; shelled

1 cup kale, blanched

½ cup spring onions, sliced

¼ cup English peas; blanched; shelled

¼ cup fresh garbanzo beans

pinch parsley; chopped

2 teaspoons garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:

1. In a hot sauté pan, add olive oil and garlic, sauté for 

1 minute.

2. Add the vegetables and sauté for about two to three minutes on medium high heat.

3. Finish with butter and parsley.

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