Peas are wonderfully versatile and can be used to bulk out pretty much any dish. Nutritionally they are quite useful as they are high in: fiber, protein, vitamin A, B6,C and K, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
Often treated as a vegetable, pea is actually a seed of a pod fruit Pisum sativum and especially when boiled or steamed becomes quite sweet.
The earliest archaeological finds of peas date back to the late neolithic era of in the Mediterranean basin (currently known as Greece, Turkey, Syria and Jordan) and this is the only area where the wild peas still grows. Peas is cultivated around the world and consumed from fresh, canned, frozen or dried.
When cooking, fresh vs. frozen peas? No contest. Try a pea and mint soup made with seeds fresh from the pod and you’ll wish they were in season all year round. Fortunately, pea season lasts 5 months in the cool UK climate, starting in May, so we can forget all about frozen ones for a while.
Peas are especially delicious raw or lightly cooked; in salads or stirred into curries and stews shortly before service. Here are our tips on making the most of them this year.
1. A handful of fresh peas added at the last moment gives wonderful colour and crunch to scrambled eggs or a fluffy omelette.
2. Make a summer hummus by blending a few handfuls of fresh peas with chickpeas, tahini, lemon, seasoning, oil and mint. Utterly delicious with flatbreads or crudités.
3. For a rapid dinner, combine freshly-cooked pasta with ricotta/mascarpone, lemon zest and fresh peas. You can convert to ravioli for showmanship, use spelt pasta for earthier flavours, or add crispy bacon, chorizo or ham hock for extra happiness.
4. Fritters make a terrific lunch, canapé or starter. Combine peas, halloumi, flour, egg, milk (plus fresh herbs and spices) into a thick batter, shape and fry in a hot pan until golden, then finish in the oven. These are exquisite hot or cold, plain or with toppings (salmon!).
5. Never tried savoury panna cotta? You’re missing out! Take almost any basic recipe, ditch the sugar, infuse the milk with the fresh pods (peas removed), then discard the pods and blend the milk with cooked peas.