Like Two Peas in a Pod

I never ate many peas growing up. I guess Mom just didn't make them very often. Therefore, I grew up having a vision in my head of peas being this shriveled, grey-green pile of mush, often eaten with boiled pearl onions and gravy-laden mashed potatoes. Ugh.

When I got married, Eric divulged to me that he loves peas, so I thought this to be the perfect opportunity to give peas a chance (insert canned laughter here). I first learned that buying frozen peas was superior to buying canned peas, as the freezing process these days is down to a fine-tuned science, where vegetables are flash frozen at the peak of their freshness. One step up from frozen peas, of course, are fresh peas. Lately at the market, I've been seeing prepackaged fresh sugar snap peas. These are delectable both raw and cooked.

On my latest pea venture, I combined them with the leftover asparagus from Sunday's Jamie Oliver meal. I quickly blanched them in boiling salted water for about a minute, then immediately transferred them to an ice bath to stop the cooking and maintain that beautiful bright green color. Dried on a paper towel, I put the peas and asparagus in a saute pan with butter and fresh grated ginger, tossing them around for another minute. I was careful not to overcook them, trying to avoid that wilted, deflated look these delicate vegetables so easily get. Once plated, I sprinkled them with some lemon zest and sea salt.

Delicious!