Last Night's Dinner - Poached Egg Tagliatelle with Fiddleheads

After a long day of fun-tivities, I was glad Tim and I were at home for Sunday dinner. I had my market fiddleheads and wanted to make a simple pasta with them. Tim's executive call was to add a poached egg for some protein - and it was a very good call. The fiddleheads were a wonderful cross between the taste of asparagus and green beans. I really loved this dish!

Poached Egg Tagliatelle with Fiddleheads

Serves two with leftovers for two lunches

1/2 lb of fiddleheads

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup chicken stock

Long pasta noodle (we used my favourite tagliatelle from Costco)

2 eggs

2 tbsp white vinegar

1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled (we used Crosswind Farm's toasted garlic chevre)

Nice olive oil for drizzling

Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1. Clean fiddleheads: Fill a bowl with cool water, add a tbsp salt and the lemon juice. Submerge the fiddleheads a few times and then rub off brown papery chaff bits. Trim the ends to remove any browning. 

2. Saute the onions in the butter over medium heat for five minutes. Reduce the heat to med-low and add garlic. Saute until fragrant and the onions are starting to become translucent. I'd estimate another ten minutes. Meanwhile, heat a big pot of salted water to boiling for the pasta. Toss the fiddleheads in with the onions and garlic and add the chicken stock. Put a lid on the frying pan to let them steam for three to five minutes. Taste one to see if it's cooked to your liking. Keep warm until the pasta is ready.

3. At the same time, chuck the pasta into the boiling, salted water to cook. When done, add to the fiddlehead mixture. Add in the goat cheese and toss to combine. I find using tongs is better than a spoon.  

4. Heat a small saucepan full of water to a boil and add the vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the eggs, one by one. We seem to find it helps if you break the eggs into a little cup with a handle first and then lower them into the water gently. The eggs will stay together better if they're fresher, and they should take between 3 1/2 to 4 minutes to poach to a runny centre. Make sure the water is just gently boiling.

5. Plate the pasta, add freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste. Drizzle with a nice olive oil. Crumble on a bit extra goat cheese. Put the poached egg on top. To eat, break open the egg and mix the yolk into the pasta for extra richness.