They're called fiddleheads and they're delicious.

While planning my trip to Maine, I stumbled upon this post at the lovely Last Night's Dinner that both tempted and inspired. I'll never forget the first time I encountered fiddleheads. It was in the spring of 2004 and I had recently moved to Nantucket, Mass., for the summer. The restaurant where I worked was pairing fiddleheads with the night's fish addition and I had to admit to the chef I'd never heard of -- let alone tasted -- the funky green ferns. Throughout the night, as I told my tables about the evening's additions and witnessed the enthusiasm over this mystery vegetable, I got the feeling I was missing out on one of Mother Nature's best-kept secrets. Later that night, as I bit into the crunchy green -- buttery and salty from the sauté pan -- my suspicions were confirmed. Often compared in flavor to asparagus, fiddleheads are delightfully strange and satisfying on the tongue, and they instantly make a playful plate. Not only that, but they serve as a reminder of the goodness we can find locally.

In Maine (fiddleheads are reportedly common across New England, as well as Asia; Australia and New Zealand; Michigan; and Ontario, Canada), fiddlehead season runs roughly six weeks starting in April. Throughout my trip, I saw and tasted them as often as I could (tossed with farfalle, lemon zest and ricotta salata at Chase's Daily in Belfast; sautéed with butter and served alongside a gorgeous filet of halibut and pickled ramps at Bresca in Portland), and I bought a bagful at the fabulous Belfast Co-Op to experiment with on the camp stove.

Because I wanted to highlight the fiddleheads, and because we'd indulged in a rather large lunch of lobster rolls, onion rings, locally-brewed beer and pie (I had strawberry-rhubarb with vanilla ice cream, my friend had blueberry with wild Maine blueberry ice cream -- Oy!) at the Docksider in Northeast Harbor, I opted to use the ferns in a light dinner of quinoa salad. Quinoa is so easy and delicious, cooking in about 10 minutes, and it's healthy, too. I use it often for simple salads such as this one.

While I boiled some water and cooked the quinoa, I chopped some young kale, pickled carrots and raw shallot. Then in a bowl, I mixed roughly a handful of each of the following: kale (leaves and stems); the pickled carrots and some amazing pickled sunchokes courtesy of Get Fresh Table and Market; raw raisins; and raw walnuts. To this, I added the cooked quinoa and set aside.

In a separate pan, I sautéed the fiddleheads* and shallot in olive oil until tender (roughly 10-12 minutes), then added to the mixture. All of this I tossed with fresh lemon, sea salt and pepper for a simple and satisfying meal. The tanginess of the pickled carrots and sunchokes, paired with the earthy crunch of the fiddleheads and raw kale, and the sweetness of the raisins, is worth recreating. Had I thought of it soon enough I would have packed some fiddleheads home for freezing and pickling. Until next year, I'll make salads such as this one with whatever seasonal produce I can get my hands on.

* Note: Because of numerous outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with eating fiddleheads, the ferns should be thoroughly cleaned and either boiled for 10 minutes or steamed for 20 minutes before eating. I found this article extremely useful.