It’s a little strange to be surrounded with fall decor and recipes only to look out the window to see sunny 72-degree weather. I’m not gloating by any means, nor am I complaining. It’s just hard for my brain to want hearty soups when I’m wearing a tank top.
Also strange is to be inundated with fall recipes — pumpkin and squash, apples and potatoes, Thanksgiving dinners — when we’re getting produce from our CSA that’s spring-like in most other parts of the country. Maybe this is how Australians feel when reading North American cooking sites. Hmm.
Anyway, while I did get a pumpkin from our farm, I also got peas.
So fresh! So… springy!
While I will toss some frozen peas into assorted dishes from time to time, I’ve never really had fresh peas to use. Frozen peas are usually pretty decent since they are frozen before the peas get old and starchy. With these fresh ones, I wanted to make something that really let their sweet flavor shine.
First, I shelled them. I am not an experience pea sheller, but I cranked up some music and the time passed quickly as I worked. Not so bad!
I decided to whip up something similar to this recipe from Amateur Gourmet. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any mint. Peas and mint are a great combo, however, and I would have added mint if possible.
What I did do, though, was boil the peas briefly in salted water, then blanched them in ice water. Then I melted a little butter in a pan, added some dried thyme (hey, it’s what I had), stirred until fragrant, then added the peas. I let them cook for a few minutes then seasoned them with salt and pepper.
Voila!
Then I dreamed that I stirred in some fresh mint. Instead, I ate the whole bowl myself.
While it made a tasty side dish, they also would have been nice stirred into a little pasta with some Parmesan or goat cheese.
Option B was a fresh pea soup recipe I had seen ages ago, but I couldn’t find it and I was hungry. Maybe I will get another batch! Now I need to go buy some mint seeds…
