Field onions and fiddleheads

Last weekend we went to help out Rolf's dad in the Oslo fjord. While walking across the island to the only shop there, we stumbled across massive amounts of villøk / field onions (Allium vineale).

They were everywhere: lining the path, on the edges of the forest, between rocks, on the beach.

At first glance, they kind of look like grass but we noticed the bigger ones were white and yellow near the base / distinctly onion-like. They also were very pungent. To be completely sure, I pulled one of them up to check. Yep, that's an onion:

Because there were so many, but also because they are so versatile in the kitchen, we ended up picking almost a kilo. About half were immediately finely chopped and then frozen for later use, i.e. in gyoza. The rest were split among topping a delicious potato and truffle soup Rolf made, infusing some homemade apple cider vinegar, and mixed into soft butter for a barbecue we are having this weekend

But then! If that was not enough, on the same day we found the season's first fiddleheads in a marshy area more inland. Fiddleheads is an umbrella term for the baby fronds of a big family of ferns, some of which are carciongenic. So even though they are delicious, it's probably best to enjoy in moderation. It is also prudent not to take all the fronds so the plant will continue to thrive!

We ate ours cooked quickly in a shallow pan full of salted boiling water so we could get to know the taste. They were very pleasant: not bitter at all, somewhat like a mix of asparagus and okra. In Japan they are a very popular wild vegetable and are known as kogomi. Next time we get them we will experiment with dashi, soy, and ponzu. Can't wait.