Fiddle, Sticks, and Dots

It's springtime and this is the time that Fiddleheads and Asparagus are around, at least here in New England. For those not in know, fiddleheads are little baby ferns when they still curled up in spirals.  They've got a bit of a nutty flavor and I quite enjoy them steamed with butter.  After having them in this simple way several times (I'd never heard of them before I moved to Massachusetts), and because I had some leftovers from what I'd bought earlier along with some asparagus in the garden, I decided to mix them up a bit.  Neither was enough for a full dish, but together they were.  The dots are pine nuts.

Fiddle, Sticks, and Dots
1 1/2 cups fiddleheads (trimmed and washed)
1 1/2 cups asparagus (washed and cut into two-inch pieces)
2-3 Tbsp pine nuts
1 Tbsp  butter and/or olive oil (I prefer butter, but it does tend to scorch on high heat - and I've never actually measured, and I've used either and both)

• Roast pine nuts in dry pan over medium heat until golden brown and set aside.
• Melt butter and olive oil in large pan and sautee fiddleheads and asparagus until bright green. * see reasoning in comments.
• Steam asparagus and fiddleheads until bright green and tender.
• Melt butter and/or olive oil on medium high head and transfer steamed veggies to pan and sautee until fully smothered and, hopefully, bits of crisp - but before they lose too much color!
• Plate and sprinkle nuts on top.

In the photo I had mixed the nuts in before serving, but I find that the nuts are much more crunchy if you save them aside until the last - and then you can also enjoy the crunchiness for the leftovers as well.