My friend Denise gave the Accidental Locavore a mess of snow peas last week (along with a ton of stuff from her garden) and since it was the only thing we hadn’t gotten around to eating, I decided to make an easy salad with the peas and brought it to her house for dinner the other night. This generously served 4 and came together in about 20 minutes.
- 1 pound snow peas, washed and trimmed
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons good olive oil
- Maldon salt to taste
- ¼ cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely sliced
In a microwave safe container, steam the snow peas with a tablespoon or two of water, covered, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Shock to stop cooking by rinsing in cold water and ice. Drain and pat dry. Cut in half the long way and put in a medium bowl.
While the peas are cooking, toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan over medium heat for 3 minutes, until just fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pine nuts, feta and salt to the peas. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle on the mint, serve and enjoy!
My verdict: A good, easy salad to play around with. I tried using goat cheese instead of the feta and it was ok, but a little less assertive than the feta. Basil might easily take the place of mint, or even try substituting lime juice and cilantro for the lemon juice and mint. Green beans, especially haricots vert, would mix well with or replace the snow peas. Let me know what you think.
