In Season: Sugar Snap Peas
Photo by Jennifer Dickert
The last couple of weeks, the greenmarket has been full of piles of sugar snap peas. Sugar snap peas have edible pods and don't require shelling—they're crisp and sweet and perfect for snacking on just as they are. To prepare them, you may need to "string" them by removing the membranous string running along the top of the pod from base to tip. If overcooked, the pods will open so treat with care. Here are a few recipes we think are worth trying this sugar snap pea season:
Sugar Snap Peas with your Main Course
Flounder with Beets and Sugar Snap Peas [SE]
Stir-Fried Tofu with Peas, Snow Peas, or Snap Peas [SE]
Sugar Snap Peas and Noodles
Aromatic Noodles with Lime-Peanut Sauce [Vicarious Foodie]
Toasted Sesame Noodle Salad with Nori-Crusted Tofu [Bitchin Camero]
Sugar Snap Pea Salads
Fresh Green Peas And Sugar Snap Peas In Sesame Dressing [Epicurious]
Warm Roasted Turnip and Sugar Snap Pea Salad [Vaness Recipes]
Sugar Snap Peas and Mint
Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon-Mint Gremolata [Pie in the Sky]
Pichet Ong's Sugar Snap Pea Salad With Mint, Parmesan, and Almond Purée [NY Mag]
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8 Comments:
I saute these briefly with salt and pepper and NOTHIN else. MMMMMMM
JerzeeTomato at 3:18PM on 06/28/08
My standard recipe for sugar snap peas is quick and easy. It's based on one in "Chez Panisse Vegetables." Here it is:
Wash and destring the snap peas, then put them in a skillet (optionally, cut each one into a few pieces on the diagonal). Add a dollop or two of butter, a few teaspoons of water, salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until done, a few minutes. Ideally, the butter and water will form an emulsion that coats the peas with wonderful flavor. You could toss in some mint or lemon zest for additional flavor.
Marc at 4:06PM on 06/28/08
reallly, though, they're best raw, eaten straight out of the bag as you exit the market.
cybercita at 10:20PM on 06/28/08
i tried a variation on the sesame-cured broccoli salad that was in the NYT a month or so ago: 1) toss about a pound of snaps, some garlic chives, and green onions with 1T rice vinegar and 2T soysauce. 2) heat 2T canola oil and fry some chiles, scapes, and green garlic until fragrant then add 2T sesame oil. 3) pour hot dressing over the vegetables and allow to sit about an hour.
very very delicious. we had it alone on a picnic and later tossed with some soba.
figbash at 11:55PM on 06/28/08
My young daughters and the young I used to pick our own at a local farm. We'd eat so many while picking, there was never enough for a meal! I always made sure I told the farmer and we paid for what we ate. If I was lucky, he'd have some extra we could take home. Same with strawberry picking. Two in the mouth, one in the basket. Peaches, we could only fit one in the mouth at the same time, but the peas were just as sweet. NJ has the best darn produce! The shoulda oughta call it the Garden State, dontcha think? ;-O
PerkyMac at 8:42AM on 06/29/08
Aside from raw, my favorite way to use sugar snap peas is in a pea pancake. It is an incredible, seasonal delight. Adapted from a recipe in the NY Times:
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2008/06/stringing-and-shelling-oh-so-compelling.html
izzy's mama at 10:42PM on 06/30/08
I grow them, and few make it into the kitchen. Ditto for the regular peas and baby carrots, etc. Nothing tastes as good as standing in the vegetable patch, stuffing one's face. Half my asparagus also met the same fate. I actually tripled the size of my veggie gardens over the years, and still often don't have enough to freeze or can...or make into jam, in the case of berries. I would love to win the lottery and be able to buy lots of rural acres ready for organic gardening. BTW...the weather in the Pacific Northwest is making it all VERY hard this year, and I have heard other places are suffering as well. Nothing brings home the reality of global warming and climate change as much as gardening does.
Carolina de Witte at 9:10AM on 07/02/08
Hey Carolina, you don't need much space really. I use a variant of the square foot garden method; rows 2' x 12' with a foot between rows. I only have 50' x 50' to grow in and I get a years worth of veggies both fresh and for freezing. You can do it!
Ditto about grazing while picking. I do get more than enough to freeze though. Still, my fam and myself stuff ourselves silly on the peas whilst pickin'.
SeamusAndrewMurphy at 3:08PM on 07/04/08