golden mornings dripping with dew have slowly dissipated into sweltering chaos as soon as the sun is available – a heatwave nonetheless curtsies atop our town. what is technically still spring is aspiring heavily to be summer. beneath the bright sun and heat it exudes has the greenest garden started to unfold. every day brings a new event; i’m quite fond of the moments spent checking on new developments in the garden – there’s always something.
amongst the abundance of green is an army of peas. recently i’ve observed their eager shoots reaching and tangling into their environment. with great pleasure we’ ve been consuming all parts of this plant – a tasty definition of season and healthy beginnings. with an abundance of pea shoots has come many a salad, rich with spring mouthfuls and taste. one thing we’ve been recently doing is pulverizing the shoots with olive oil, and then straining to produce the brightest pea oil. this is a delightful infusion to any soup or salad. irresistibly i add red pepper for the punch i’m ever dreaming of. recently i’ve dressed a tabbouleh salad with it (note: it’s really damn delicious!).
and today i wish to leave you with a culmination of my spring season thus far. a richness in shoots and herbs. the promise of future beginnings. the contentedness that surfaces from the connectedness.
- pea oil:
- 2 cups pea shoots
- 1 cup olive oil
- ¼-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- for the salad:
- 4 cups pea shoots
- 2 cups snap/snow peas, cut on the bias
- ½ bunch green onion, bulb and stalk sliced thinly
- 1 cup fresh celery greens
- 2 tbl fresh chervil
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1 tbl pea oil
- 2 tbl almond, lightly crushed
- 1 tbl fennel seed
- for the dressing:
- ¼ pea oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- in a blender or food processor combine pea shoots with oil and red pepper flakes. strain oil through a fine mesh strainer into a separate bowl. set aside.
- on a large platter or in a large bowl, combine pea shoots, snap or snow peas, green onion, celery greens, chervil, and lemon zest.
- in a small saute pan heat the pea oil. add almond and fennel seed and fry for 1-2 minutes on medium, until crisped. remove to a paper-towel lined plate and very lightly salt. add to salad.
- whisk together the final measurement of pea oil and lemon juice, dress salad, and give a final toss before serving.