Thursday, June 29, 2006

Sugar Snap Peas


Sugar snap pea season is here! We look forward to this time of the year to buying sugar snap peas at Greenmarket. On a recent Saturday we made a special trip to the market in Union Square to see if the local producers were offering them yet. And sure enough, we spotted the peas filled a bag with several handfulls, and we have been eating them practically everyday since.

The way we like to eat them is simple. Cook them for 1 minute in boiling water, drain and run under cold water to chill and arrest the cooking process. The sugar snap peas are very soft and can be eaten raw, so it isn't necessary to cook them more than 60 seconds. This blanching in the boiling water is just enough to bring out the beautiful bright green color.

Eat them plain or dip them in a sauce of your own choosing. We like a slightly spicy mix of Kewpie mayonnaise and yuzu kosho paste (or Kewpie and miso). Enjoy them now (preferably with a glass of rose) because the season is short and there's nothing like the local variety!

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