Top Sirloin Steak with Fiddleheads and Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Brotes de helechos con carne a la brasa y puré de patatas al ajo)

There is something about fiddleheads (cola de mono, Spain, costilla de vaca, Chile, or tête de violin, France) that one cannot resist. Maybe it is the smell and taste of the woods, the pine trees. While most people say they taste like asparagus, I find the flavor closer to Swiss chard. I prefer them boiled, steamed, or sautéd with garlic and served by themselves. Today I paired them with a steak and mashed potatoes. While fiddleheads are a good complement to beef, I still think their flavor stands out most when they are served separately.

Ingredients:

1 top sirloin steak (marinated with white wine, smashed garlic and soy sauce, and then grilled)

6 potatoes 

1 garlic head

cream

salt

pepper

Mashed potatoes:

Put water, potatoes (not peeled), garlic (peeled) and salt in a pan. When the potatoes are done remove and peel them. Then mash the potatoes and the garlic together, and taste for salt and pepper. Next add the cream little by little, stirring until you have the consistency you desire. Taste and rectify the seasoning. Put the mashed potatoes in a deep oven proof dish or in a ring, paint the top with butter and put them under a broiler until the top gets brown.

Fiddleheads:

Blanch the fiddleheads in boiling water for 10 minutes or longer if you steam them. Then remove and put them in ice water.  

If you prefer, sauté the fiddleheads with garlic in olive oil or butter.

Marinated steaks:

Marinate the steak for 3 or 4 hours before cooking in a mix of 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 cup white wine and 6 chopped or smashed garlic cloves. When the charcoals are red, grill the meat about 5 minutes each side. Remove the meat and let it rest for 15 minutes covered with aluminum foil.

Assemble all the ingredients on a platter. Enjoy the earthy flavors of the fiddleheads, the juiciness of the meat and the creaminess of the potatoes - all with a touch of garlic!