World Peas: Go Green

I went to a potluck event last night where one of the main dishes was a gooey chicken pot pie whose only color and taste came from its fresh peas. Bright hit of bright green!  I don't think anybody else took as much note because peas are just another ho hum vegetable to most of us, and a pain to those who hate the time it takes to shell them.  This is seriously too bad. 

Peas are a wonder of the world, the ones we know as "English peas" actually a modernized version. They were hybridized out of those ancient, nutritious, treasured dhal "split" peas that so many rely on for protein and sustenance. Italians may have started what became “the fashion and madness” for fresh peas by inventing what we know as petit pois, which the 18^th and 19^th Century English turned into the larger, greener garden peas most commonly grown today. (They definitely cook quicker than dhal peas.) One of the most enthusiastic pea experimenters was Thomas Jefferson who grew dozens of varieties at Monticello. 

The upshot is that the shelling peas we now know are a mighty nutritious vegetable, like their dhal cousins. I tell you all this in my How to Fix a Leek...book: They are full of vitamins K, A, C and B6, folic acid and manganese. They provide protein and fiber because they’re legumes (dried, they become split peas). So as Mother says: eat your peas. (And don't be so quick to trash their pods: boil them in salted water to make a very flavorful, aromatic broth for, say, rice, pasta, vegetable soup.

How?

Let me count the delicious ways: 
1. Fresh pea "hummus" with mint, recipe posted on this blog on May 1 after it was a huge hit garnishing my talk at New York City's Rubin Museum of HImalayan Art. 

2. A more exotic Argentinian Pea Pudding is in How to Fix a Leek...on the July peas page. 

3. A seriously tasty ancient Southern Italian recipe for Peas with Pasta is in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking from Wisdom Publications and available in stores or via Amazon.

4. The cousin of that dish is the northern Italian risi e bisi: rice with peas, a soupy pea risotto. (Best recipe is probably from Mainer John Thorne in Simple Cooking but there are plenty all over the Internet)

5. The Indian favorite Aloo Mattar or Muttar is potatoes with peas.* 

6. British smashed peas, buttery mashed peas with mint, recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking

7. My own tribute to Maine's tradition of eating fresh salmon with new potatoes and peas on July 4 is potato salad with smoked salmon, dill and fresh peas.*

8. With chicken or turkey inside a pot pie

9. Just plain wonderful 3 minute steamed fresh peas with lettuce, mint and sea salt.*

10: a variation of that: peas and green garlic, two signs of spring into summer*

*recipes

Aloo Mattar 

serves 4

3 medium boiled potatoes

3/4 cup green peas

2 tbsp corn, mustard or safflower oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1" fresh ginger peeled and smashed into a paste
3 garlic cloves peeled and smashed and minced
1 green chili, minced
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt or to your taste
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Peal the potatoes cut into bite size pieces.
In a small bowl, mix ginger, garlic, green chili, coriander, fennel seed, turmeric, and paprika with ¼ cup of water.
Heat oil in a saucepan. (Test heat by adding 1 cumin seed. If tit cracks right away, the oil is ready.) Add all cumin seeds, once they crack, add the spice mix in the bowl. Cook about one minute or until spices start to separate from the oil.  Add green peas plus half a cup of water. Cook 3 minutes or until peas are tender.
Add potatoes and salt. Mix and try when you do to mash a few piece of potato to make the sauce thicken.
Add 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil then lower heat to medium and cook  about 5 minutes to release all flavors. Add garam masala, chopped cilantro and tomatoes.  Blend gently and continue cooking on low heat until gravy comes to boil.  Cover pot and  turn off heat. Let sit 10 minutes. Then it's ready to serve!

Maine Potato Salad with Salmon and Peas

 (not necessarily exact because it doesn't have to be and it will still be terrific)

serves 4

8-10 new potatoes: red bliss or Yukon gold, scrubbed and boiled until al dente (not mushy), drained and cut into bite-sized pieces

4 slices smoked salmon or 1/3 lb cooked fresh salmon, cut into bite sized pieces

1 cup (from 1lb in pod) cooked fresh peas (steamed 3 minutes in salted water with a sprig of mint)

1 tbsp fresh dill, minced

1 tsp celery seed

Freshly ground black pepper to your taste

2 tsp capers, without juice

1 sm red onion, peeled and minced (you can substitute 5 scallions but you'll lose a color in the bowl)

Salt to your taste (be careful as the capers and smoked salmon may be salty)

Combine all the above in a serving bowl and make the dressing:

1 tsp sherry or balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp plain Greek (thick and not watery) yogurt

pinch of salt

3 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp ketchup

 Whisk together and blend into the potato salad.

Top with 1 tbsp fresh parsley leaves, minced and serve or refrigerate covered until ready to serve.

 

Steamed Peas with Mint

Shell the peas you have and put the pods in a medium pot. Cover with water and boil on high heat for 5 minutes.  Remove pods, keep that water. Salt the water and add the peas plus 3 sprigs fresh mint and optionally, a piece of lettuce. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off the heat and let sit 3 minutes. The peas should just be al dente, not mushy, not hard. Remove peas, put in serving bowl, season with sea salt and serve with pride.

Peas with Green Garlic
(adapted from Saveur 2011)
serves 4

4 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 small stalks green garlic, thinly sliced, or 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt to your taste taste
1½ lbs fresh green peas, shelled
2 small heads butter lettuce (about 6 oz.), washed, cored, and torn into large pieces
Freshly ground black pepper to your taste
  

Heat 2 tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and salt, and cook, stirring often, until garlic softens, maybe 3 minutes. Add peas and cook until they're bright and tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in remaining butter and lettuce plus 1 tbsp. water, more salt and the pepper. Immediately remove from heat and stir until lettuce is just wilted, about 1 minute.

 

Serve hot.