with Crunchy Chickpeas
This mezze is such a remarkably simple dish that evokes #spring #seasonality as well as regional foraging. There is a very short window in springtime when fiddle heads (the new shoots from ferns) start to pop out. You may be lucky enough to have a #forager handy to help with collection, however if not, you may be able to find them in specialty grocery stores around the country. The window for them is very short - only a few weeks or so. If you do manage to find them, here is an easy recipe that lets their fresh springtime flavor come through, they taste similar to asparagus. Here is what you need:
for the fiddleheads:
1/4lb fresh fiddleheads, soaked in cold water to clean (they can be sandy sometimes) and drained.
2 cloves garlic
3 TBSP. Nice olive oil
halved lemon to squeeze
for the chickpeas
set oven to 350
1 cup cooked and drained chickpeas (either from a can or cook them yourself in plain water - not salted, or else you will be cooking rocks)
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp onion powder
S & P TT
combine olive oil and spices. Toss the cooked and drained chickpeas in the olive oil mixture - Roast on a sheet-pan until crispy, but not burned! about 30-35 minutes. perhaps a little longer until they are satisfyingly crisp.
Assembly:
in a hot sauté pan, fry #garlic briefly until fragrant but not brown.
add drained fiddleheads and sauté until bright green
squeeze fresh lemon juice in the pan and continue to sauté.
Add the crispy chickpeas and serve!