Snow Peas in Pod
By Cat, March 2015 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
See also: 1. Taratour Sauce (Turkish Tangy Sesame Tahini); 2. Soaking, Sprouting Nuts & Seeds
One of my best garden crops is snow peas and snap peas (I plant both). I love them because I don’t have to shuck the peas from the pods, and the plants produce new pods throughout the growing season. You could use either of these edible-pod pea varieties in this recipe. Snow pea pods are flat (unless overripe) and snap pea pods are more rounded; both are sweet.
Taratour sauce is a tangy sauce from Turkey, typically made with sesame seeds or almonds (as in this case), and is an excellent garnish for the peas. I highly recommend using sprouted almonds, or at least presoaked overnight, then dried at low temperature.
Snap or Snow Peas with Almond Taratour Sauce
This recipe is adapted from Fine Cooking (1). As mentioned above, I highly recommend using sprouted almonds, or at least presoak them overnight, then dry at low temperature.
Ingredients & Equipment
- ½ cup blanched whole almonds (preferably sprouted or presoaked, then dried), plus 2 Tbs. toasted and chopped for garnish (optional)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tsp. chopped garlic
- Unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- filtered water
- 1 lb. snap or snow peas (4 cups), trimmed and washed
- ice
- Equipment
- jar (for soaking or sprouting almonds, optional)
- colander
- blender
- large saucepan or pot
- large bowl
Method:
- Prep: Optional but recommended: soak almonds overnight, then dry in oven with light-bulb turned on (or with a pilot light); or sprout almonds over 2 – 3 days, then dry.
- Peel and chop garlic; wash and trim edible pod peas; juice lemon.
- Sauce: In a blender, purée the whole almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and ½ cup water until completely smooth and thick, at least 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Peas: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and have ready a large bowl of ice water. Cook the peas until bright green, 20 to 30 seconds. Drain and transfer to the ice water to cool. Drain again and blot dry.
- Serve the sauce on the side for dipping, or drizzle it over the peas and garnish with the chopped almonds, if using.
References:
- Fine Cooking: Snap Peas with Turkish Tarator Sauce recipe (finecooking.com/recipes/snap-peas-turkish-tarator-sauce.aspx
