Thank you so much for this! We’ve enjoyed it twice and love everything about it – the lovely aroma, the smoky tangy flavour, the beautiful presentation, and the sheer fun of eating them. So brilliant and simple!
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Blistered Peas in the Pod with Lemon and Salt
When you grow things in a garden, even if you’re a complete novice, they almost always work harder than you expect them to. What I mean is, you don’t just harvest a vegetable once, but repeatedly. So for the last month or so, we’ve been eating a lot of peas. There are sugar snap peas and snow peas and shelling peas, and my kids, when they get home from school, head straight to the back fence to pick them and eat them right there, as if they were candy. I feel so grateful for this; as I explained to them, I never ate a vegetable raw from a garden until I was an adult, and I’m so happy they get to experience this joy.
I, too, love a raw pea, or a quickly steamed one. But I am also constantly thinking of ways to use them in different ways, not just as a quick side or salad toss-in. For years, one of my favorite preparations has been roasted sugar snap peas with pine nuts and pecorino, a salad that converted many a pea hater into a pea enthusiast. But this year, I was enamored with a recipe from a new cookbook I worked on by my friend and neighbor, Sarah Britton of My New Roots. It’s for a warm pea salad, where she sears the peas until they are blistered and warm and sweet, and then tosses them with garlic, lemon, salt, and pepper. It’s so simple, but so good. I’ve adapted my version to lean into the blistered side of things, where some of the peas get a little browned and smoky, and others are cooked only to crisp-tender, and a very short cooking time. They’re still dressed simply with lemon and salt, and you can serve them warm or at room temperature. A light dusting of finely grated hard cheese (pecorino or parmesan) is, of course, a delightful addition.
These are the quickest to make, take almost no effort, are a very satisfying, fresh side to anything you’re grilling, roasting, or pan-frying, and have found a semi-permanent place in my kitchen this spring.
I’ve used sugar snap peas here but this technique works with any pea in the pod — sugar snaps, snow peas, even shelling peas, so long as the pods are still slender and not tough. If your shelling pea pods are tougher, you can shell them and blister the peas inside, but this is a different (and to me, less exciting) preparation.
One year ago: Radishes with Butter and Salt
Two years ago: Focaccia with Rosemary and Garlic
Three years ago: Chicken Shawarma Fries
Four years ago: Every Kind of Bean Burger
Five years ago: Cherry Balsamic Pie
Six years ago: Marinated Chickpeas with Lemon, Feta and Oregano
Seven years ago: Peach Raspberry Cobbler
Eight years ago: Smashed Cucumber Salad
Nine years ago: Blackberry Buttermilk Scones
Ten years ago: Every Day Pizza
Blistered Peas in the Pod with Lemon and Salt
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound sugar snap peas, or other slender peas in the pod (see note above), washed and dried
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Optional: Finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large (10-inch is good for this) cast iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add peas, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper and cook, undisturbed, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom side of the peas are blistered and lightly browned.
- Give peas a quick stir, reduce heat to medium, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until just crisp-tender (you want them still bright green and firm, not mushy).
- Remove from heat, drizzle with lemon juice and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature, with optional cheese.
