Directions

1) Pick over the fiddleheads, discarding those that are too far unfurled and removing the tough ends and as much of the brown, papery skin as possible

2) Place the fiddleheads in the soup pot and cover with water. Bring fiddleheads to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes

3) Drain fiddleheads in the sieve/colander and discard the water. Set the fiddleheads aside

4) Wash and prepare the leeks/onion, mushrooms and garlic

5) In the soup pot, combine the oil, barley, garlic, mushrooms, and onion/leeks. Sautee until leeks are softened

6) Add 6 C water and bring mixture to a boil.

7) Turn down the heat and allow to cook for 15 minutes, until the barley is mostly cooked through

8) In the small bowl, mix the miso with 1 C of cold water – blend until mixture is very smooth.

9) Slowly add a ladle-full of the hot barley water to the miso mixture, stirring rapidly, thinning out the miso without cooking over-cooking it

10) Add the miso mixture, cooked fiddleheads, and cider vinegar to the soup pot, stirring until well-mixed

11) Allow to heat through (about five minutes) without boiling, then serve and enjoy