Seasonal recipe: Green peas braised with lettuce and scallions

All of the ingredients for this monochromatic side dish are in season in most regions right now, and they combine to make a quick and healthy side dish.

Thu, Jun 04 2009 at 7:03 AM

Related Topics:

Organic Cooking, Recipes, Whole Foods

Green peas braised with lettuce and scallions

Earlier this week, I introduced you to the cookbook Seasonal Foods. Today’s in season recipe is taken from the book. Peas, bib lettuce, scallions and mint make up the colors in this side dish, making it a very seasonal and very green side dish.

This recipe was in the summer section of the book, but all of these things are in season right now in my region. I bought local Bibb lettuce and scallions at the farmers market, raided my friend Beth’s mint patch, and used (gasp) frozen peas. Shelling peas are in season right now, and in a perfect world I would have used them. But I took the short cut and used the frozen – it’s little league playoff time and short cuts are more than appropriate when you’ve got two boys in little league.

In the end, I put too much salt in the dish – a hazard of a recipe that says salt and pepper to taste. The mint in this made for a surprising taste the first bite; it was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. After a few bites all of the flavors came together and the mint didn’t overwhelm as it did in the first bite.

It doesn’t end up being a very pretty dish, but its one packed with vitamins, minerals, ingredients you can get from your own garden (or your friend’s) or the farmers market, and interesting flavor.

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
bunch of scallions, sliced diagonally into 1-inch lengths
2 Bibb lettuces, shredded
11 oz shelled fresh or frozen peas (about 2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups)
4 sprigs of fresh mint
3 tbsp white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Time Estimates

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 15 min

Total time: 25 min

Directions

Melt butter in a large pan and sauté the scallions over medium heat about 1 minute.
Add the lettuce and peas and stir, coating with the butter
Add mint and wine, stir, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper too taste and serve

Yield

Makes 11 oz. peas

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