Fiddlehead Fern Soup

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium-size yellow onion, sliced
2-1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb. clean fiddlehead ferns
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbs. lemon juice (preferably freshly squeezed)
salt and pepper to taste
6 Tbs. butter (for the roux)
3/4 cup flour
extra stick of unsalted butter (optional)

Preparation:

Melt the butter in a stock pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion for approximately two or three minutes until soft and transparent. Add the stock and the wine, then the fiddlehead ferns, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add the half-and-half, cream, nutmeg and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Purée soup in small batches in a blender or food processor. Return to the pot and keep over low heat.

To thicken, make a roux* by melting butter in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until thickened. Whisk roux into soup and stir until thickened. Soup can be further enriched by stirring in an additional stick of unsalted butter, if desired.

* Note: A roux is a mixture of fat (or butter) and flour used to thicken sauces.

Yield: 8 servings