Though they are so familiar today that they seem to have been around forever, sugar snap peas are a fairly recent crossbreeding that combines the best features of two other varieties - sugar peas (another name for snow peas) and snap peas (another name for the English pea). And cut into pieces and stirred into a prosciutto-based risotto, they add a surprising crunch to what is really a souped-up risi e bisi.įor those who despair that modern agricultural improvement is an oxymoron, sugar snaps offer reassurance that sometimes things do go right. Left whole and steamed briefly in lettuce leaves, their flavor picks up added notes of complexity. And it’s so much less labor-intensive and more cost-effective than the original, since you use the entire pod. Pureed, the sugar snaps make a splendid stand-in for peas in a vividly green light spring soup. Sometimes that kind of cook’s logic can lead to disaster (I still cringe at the memory of a sauteed chicken coated in a thick paste of ground black olives). And it turns out the answer was right in front of my face: Sugar snaps have all the sweetness and verdant flavor of English peas, so why not adapt some traditional pea recipes using them? There’s certainly nothing wrong with either of these treatments, but last week I got the urge to do a little more. The problem is they’re so delicious raw - so bursting with that sweet green vitality - that it seemed like cooking could only diminish them.Īnd so I’d keep things very simple: blanch them briefly to brighten the color, then dress them lightly with a little butter and some coarse salt or maybe I’d combine them with herbal mayonnaise and quickly cooked shrimp for a spring salad, or something like that. For years I’ve found sugar snap peas singularly exasperating to cook with. The only problem is figuring out what to do with them. You still need to get there early to get the best of them - sugar snap peas are hardly a secret. Tables at local farmers markets are mounded with these little green gems, and they’re at all the supermarkets too. Best of all, it retains its sweetness and vitality long enough that you can actually get a chance to enjoy it. The sugar snap pea captures all of the English pea’s charms, and adds a distinctive crunch as well. Rather than put yourself through another round of vegetable roulette, there is a better choice - and one that is amazingly plentiful at this time of year. ![]() Hidden away inside their pods, it’s almost impossible to tell whether you’re going to get a bright green diamond or just another lump of coal. Shopping for peas is an exercise in frustration. Sweet and fresh one minute, it seems to tire and turn to starch the next. They may well be right, but most of us are just going to have to take their word for it.Ī perfect pea is fleeting. ![]() Poets and gardeners agree that no flavor better captures spring’s sweet song than that of a perfect English pea.
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