Simple Pleasures – English Peas
I was fortunate enough to find fresh English Peas at Harry’s Farmers Market over the weekend. They are not something we get to see very often in the big city, so naturally, I got them while I could! This truly was a sign that Spring might be just around the corner!
I often cook with lots of ingredients and make a huge mess in my kitchen, but for this particular post, simpler is better. The peas are just wonderful fresh out of the pods with not much fuss.
The pictures speak for themselves. The peas were beautiful. It was fun to pop them out of their shells. It reminded me and my hubby of many years ago when we were kids (yes, unfortunately, it was many years ago!). Shelling peas was something we did all the time because this is how most of us ate peas. No cans, no bags of frozen peas…
I found a recipe for fresh peas with red onion and mint and it sounded delightful, but I decided to not muck them up with a bunch of other flavors. I was not sure if I would find them again this Spring, so I prepared them as simply as possible.
No fuss in this recipe. They were truly delicious!
It doesn’t get any better than this!
English Peas
Serves 2
Ingredients:
Enough peas for two servings
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pats of salted butter
Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add your fresh peas and boil for 4-5 minutes. Drain and serve with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with pats of butter.
I had peas too–straight out of the silver Lesuer can!
(Like my mama taught me)
They are good peas, too! My hubby loves them with mashed potatoes.
The fresh peas are soooo different and not here for very long, so it’s fun to eat them while you can! 🙂
Forget popcorn, let’s have a movie and peas nite!!! 🙂
And I agree, it’d be criminal to muck ’em up with too much stuff. Butter, salt and pepper, mmmm…
Looks delicious! Now I wanna hunt for some peas… [K]
They sure were good! I wonder if you can dry them and pop them?! Now that would be a blog post! 😉
How do you think they would be with oil instead of butter?
Hi Marie! Finally…something light! 🙂 The recipe I was going to use for the post uses olive oil and other seasonings. I just wanted something simple, so I left them plain with butter. That recipe combines fresh peas (or blanch them lightly), some red onion, red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh mint. Mix with a little salt and pepper and that’s it! You could play with the herbs and see what tastes good to you, if you do not like mint. The dish is more of a salad and should sit for an hour and then serve it at room temperature. I hope that helps!
You are so lucky! I wish we had some of those here.
We were lucky…for just a short time! I did not see any of these peas last year! I hope I can still find some this week! They were so yummy….
Your peas look sweet and delicious. And your website is beautiful. See you at Camp Blogaway!
Thank you! I went to your blog and took a peek. I think your story is awesome! Good for you for doing what you have done. Your blog is lovely. I look forward to meeting you as well!
My goodness! Those are beautiful. Never had peas fresh from their pods. They must have tasted incredible!
That is by far and away the best way to enjoy fresh peas! I love how simply you left them.
I totally agree! They are so sweet by themselves. No need to fuss!
thanks a lot! Now I hope I can find some fresh peas after you have completely teased me!
Those peas looks so fresh and just gorgeous! A simple and elegant side dish!
Thank you! I want some more! I will have to check back at the market this weekend.
Dear Gwen – You take me back….to days when Mum & I used to sit together with newspaper spread between us and shell pounds & pounds of sweet peas. How delightful!
And what beautiful pics you have. One day this camera retard is going to have to learn some skills 😉
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Hi Devaki,
Your pics are great! I love how you go through every step.
Those are some of the memories I have as well…prepping all the fresh veggies when I was a kid. It really is special when you find things like fresh peas since they are not available often.
Gwen
I love peas. I could maybe eat them at every meal.
Sprin peas are still coming for those of us who do not have our own gardens. The market opens next week so Spring has really arrived.
How beautiful! I would LOVE some of those right now! Great pictures.
I remember shelling peas too when I was a kid… it was so much fun! Good childhood memories…
I love peas too. My mom says it was my favorite food. Now, my toddler is addicted to them… genetics???
Simple and beautiful! I love that you let the experience of creating good food shine through in the pictures.