Eats Shoots and Leaves

The markets are going green: spinach, baby kale, scallions, lettuce, chard, even in lucky places my special favorite, pea shoots. I fell in love at first bite in one of San Francisco's Chinese restaurants known for serving up huge platefuls seasoned with garlic, then chased them down in Chinese markets. I got so addicted, I badgered and bothered local farmers I knew to start thinning their pea crops to bringing those pulled shoots to market for me. "Plant extra peas just to get those shoots," I insisted. "I'll buy them. I'll get others to buy them. You won't be sorry."

Now, I can say with a "phew!", pea shoots have completed their migration from the East to the West to the east of that West, for now that June is busting out all over, they're showing at New England farmers' markets--and proudly featured too.

This is hugely good news. Pea shoots are not just a seductive prelude to the fully grown pod peas coming in July, but a perfect momentary tonic. Those leafy little sprouts have almost no calories and zero fat but almost the whole ABCs of vitamins: over the top Vitamin K, lots of C, significant A and the various Bs, even E. They're also chockful of antioxidants. Health by the handful but only at this precious moment before those pea vines grow up. So now or never...until next June.

There are shoots from the snow pea, the snap pea and the garden pod pea. The trick to enjoying shoots is to get the smallest, tenderest little tendrils you can find. I am not sure but tend to think they're more likely to come from snow pea vines than garden pea vines. But in any case, the best look like magnified alfalfa sprouts. If farmers wait longer to thin their crop, the shoot begins to get more stem and the stem begins to get tougher, which means more prep work and a sometimes a tough mouthful to swallow. If there are tough stems attached, break them off with your fingers and either contribute them to soup stock, rice water or your compost pile. Some Chinese Americans find fixing these older pea shoots so much work, they only eat them in restaurants--which allows those restaurants to charge plenty for them: up to $11 a dish.

But right now you can probably get tender shoots which are a no-brainer to serve. The quickest way to heat and eat is to rinse them thoroughly, don't drain them too much and put them still wet in a saucepan to steam in those remaining water droplets for 1 minute or two. Salt and serve. You can do this as a side dish with dumplings or chicken or you can throw them over pasta with fresh peas, seasoned with freshly ground black pepper and a hint of mint. Careful though: you don't want to do too much to compete with that lovely grassy pea flavor you can't get elsewhere.

Or, you can rinse them thoroughly and spin them dry so they really are dry. Then to feed 4, quickly stir-fry a heaping pound of them along with 8 cloves of garlic thinly sliced in 2 tsp of canola, soybean or olive oil for 20 seconds. Toss in a tbsp of vegetable broth, rice wine, sake or water, sprinkle on salt to taste, turn heat to high and shaking the pan, cook for one minute until the shoots are wilted. That's it.

You don't have to go to a San Francisco Chinese restaurant, consult gastronomy encyclopedias or give up any solstice revelry time to enjoy this sunny June treat. That just makes me love pea shoots even more.