Fresh from The Spring Farm: Peas!

By Jenny Spring

Jenny Spring

Anyone else in Huntsville having a challenging growing season this year? Especially peas and beans?

Peas are usually the first thing I plant every year outside. The peas love the cold and can handle frost. This year there was so much rain my pea and bean seeds rotted.

I also find that they won’t germinate well in the heat of the summer so if you missed the spring planting it’s hard to get good peas again.

Peas are also one of my favourite vegetables to grow. A pea from the garden is WAY better than peas from the grocery store. My favourite way to eat peas is right off the vine, in fact not many make it to market as I end up snacking on them all day while working. However, they are also great grilled. Below is a recipe from Dishing Up the Dirt, another organic farm recipe blog and book.

But first here are some gardening tips:

There are two varieties of peas that will suit your garden and cooking needs: Pisum savitum, which includes both types of garden peas – sweet peas (inedible pods) and snow peas (edible flat pods with small peas inside) – and Pisum macrocarpon or snap peas (edible pods with full-size peas).

‘Snowbird’ (snow pea) is resistant to fusarium wilt. ‘Sugar Ann’ (snap pea) is an early variety with a short vine. ‘Green Arrow’ (garden pea) is a mid-season variety with high yields, also resistant to fusarium wilt.

Peas need to be trellised so make sure to help guide them up a fence.

To get the best head start, turn over your pea planting beds in the fall, add manure to the soil, and mulch well.

As with other legumes, pea roots will fix nitrogen in the soil, making it available for other plants.

Sow seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before last spring frost, when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees F.

Plant 1 inch deep (deeper if soil is dry) and 2 inches apart.

Keep your peas well picked to encourage more pods to develop.

Pick peas in the morning after the dew has dried. They are crispiest then.

Always use two hands when you pick peas. Secure the vine with one hand and pull the peas off with your other hand.

Peas can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Place in paper bags, then wrap in plastic.

If you missed your peas’ peak period, you can still pick, dry, and shell them for use in winter soups.

Recipes (All photos and recipes are from Dishing Up the Dirt)

Snow Peas with Miso and Mustard (Image: Dishing Up the Dirt)

Snow Peas with Miso and Mustard

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 pound snow peas
• 1 tablespoon white miso
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat a medium sized dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the walnut and cook, shaking the pan often, until toasted. About 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside. When cool enough to handle roughly chop them.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water and keep it to the side. Add the snow peas and cook until crips tender and bright green. About 45 seconds. Keep a close eye on the snow peas as they can overcook quickly. Transfer the peas to the ice water to cool and then pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the miso, mustard, oil, vinegar and honey. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the snow peas to the bowl and toss until well coated. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts.

Grilled Sugar Snap Peas with Spicy Peanut Sauce (Image: Dishing Up the Dirt)

Grilled Sugar Snap Peas with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spicy Peanut Sauce

• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if you are sensitive to spice try 1/8 teaspoon first)
• 2-3 Tablespoons of water

Sugar Snap Peas

• 1 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Whisk together all the ingredients for the peanut sauce until smooth and creamy. Taste test and adjust seasonings as needed. If the sauce is too thick add a touch more water to thin.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Toss the peas with the olive oil and salt. Set a wire rack or grill basket on the grill grate and grill peas, turning occasionally, until lightly charred. About 4 minutes.
3. Serve peas with the dipping sauce and serve warm or at room temperature.

Spring Pea Spaghetti with Herbed Tahini Sauce (Image: Dishing Up the Dirt)

Spring Pea Spaghetti with Herbed Tahini Sauce

Spaghetti

• 10 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1 cup shelled green peas (if frozen thawed)
• 4-5 radishes, thinly sliced

Tahini Sauce

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup water + additional to thin
• juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 garlic scape, minced (can sub with garlic clove if need be)
• 2 scallions, minced, white and light green parts
• 1/2 cup mint, minced
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes + additional for more of a kick
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until al dente. In the last 2 minutes of cooking add your sugar snap peas and green peas and cook until peas are crips tender and bright green (this should not take more than 2 minutes) Drain pasta and peas, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Return the pasta and peas to the pot and keep the cooking liquid to the side.
2. While the pasta cooks prepare your sauce. Using an immersion blender or small food processor combine all the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. Add more water to thin as necessary. Season generously with salt and pepper. Taste test and adjust as needed.
3. Drizzle in the tahini sauce with the cooked pasta and toss until well incorporated, adding reserved cooking liquid if the pasta seems too dry. Add the radishes and toss once more. Divide between plates and serve with additional salt and pepper.

Late one June evening on the Spring Farm

Jenny Spring and Oliver Wolfe are co-owners of The Spring Farm with Andrea and Brian Currie. Each week, Jenny will share a recipe featuring in-season, Muskoka-grown produce from their local farm, which is just five kilometres from downtown Huntsville. She’ll also share a gardening tip about the chosen vegetable. You can find these vegetables and more at the Huntsville Farmers’ market on Thursdays after Victoria Day in the Canadian Tire parking lot, or at The Spring Farm gate on Bethune Road North starting in June.

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