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There is nothing quite as graceful as trellised pea plants in full swing. And nothing quite as tasty as a crunchy sugar snap pea eaten straight off the vine. And nothing that so captures the essence of spring as peas–all kinds of peas.

Peas love cool, wet weather, and so are often only in season for a few weeks, when you will find local farmers bringing in the irresistible sugar snap pea, the Chinese or snow pea, and the good old fashioned shell (or English) peas.

Snow Peas – Healthy and Cosmopolitan

Snow peas are long, thin, early flat pea pods, with teensy proto-peas inside. But you’re not after the peas in this case; it’s the tender pod itself you’ll love. Traditionally found in Chinese and other Asian cuisines, they now appear in all sorts of dishes from salads to pastas to stir-fries.

Some say the name snow pea comes from the slight whitish tint reflected from the pods in bright sunlight. Others say it’s because they are a cool weather crop–best in the early spring or late fall, when they just might be covered with light frost or even snow. But no matter the name, or where it comes from, snow peas are sweet and crisp and delicious– and an excellent source of fiber, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Snow peas are also among the most venerable of vegetables, with evidence of their cultivation going back more than 12,000 years along the Thai-Burma border.

Sweet Sugar Snap Back Story

Way on the other end of the pea timeline, one of the newest pea cultivars is the sugar snap pea. Calvin Lamborn of Twin Falls, Idaho began crossing snow peas with shell peas in the 1960s. He was going after a pea that would have the edible, non-fibrous pod of the snow pea, plus the full-size interior peas of English peas. His hybrid was finally perfected in 1979, and has become a favorite of gardeners and market farmers ever since.

Both the pod and the peas are plump, succulent, and sweetly irresistible. The French call them mange-tout, which tells you what to do, “eat the whole thing,” preferably on the way home from market for maximum nutrition and enjoyment. As with all legumes, peas host beneficial bacteria in their root nodules, which make nitrogen in the air available as a fertilizer in the soil for themselves and whatever crop is planted there next. They are one of the true heroes of our fields and tables–so enjoy!

Here’s what could come out of your garden for this recipe – Peas and Parsley!

Quick Snow Peas with Lemon Herb Butter from Farm Fresh Now!

Snow Peas with Lemon Herb Butter

Fresh peas cook really fast, so keep an eye on them, and take them off the heat as soon as they turn bright green, while they are still crunchy and succulent.

Servings: 4

Author: Farm Fresh Now

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 teaspoons finely chopped herbs of your choice suggest half and half finely chopped tarragon and flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound snow peas trimmed

Instructions

Stir together butter, zest, herbs, salt, and pepper.
Cook peas in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 1 minute.
Drain well.
Transfer hot peas to a bowl, then add lemon herb butter and toss to coat.

Recipe Notes

Snow Peas and Sugar Snap Peas can be used interchangeably in just about any recipe.
Sugar Snaps are also great raw as part of a vegetable tray or a box lunch.
Serves four as a side dish.

The Land Connection Foundation
The best way to enjoy healthy, seasonal produce is to buy it from your local community farmer.
To locate the farmers’ market or CSA nearest you, visit Local Harvest.
Farm Fresh Now! is a project of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit that preserves
farmland, trains new farmers, and connects people with great locally-grown foods. This series is
made possible with generous support from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

by Stephen Scott

Recipes

Baked Yogurt Tart

Sometimes the simplest things are the most elegant and satisfying. This almost-custard yogurt tart is one example. Strained yogurt, a little sugar, vanilla and some eggs are all there is to it, but the resulting marriage of the rich egg and yogurt flavors along with the sweetness of the sugar, all tied up in the aroma and taste of high quality vanilla is captivating.

Everyone expresses their approval with lots of “mmmm” sounds, not wanting to waste time or attention in talking. That’s when you know you’ve got something special!

Fresh eggs from your backyard chickens, ducks or geese will really make this memorable!

Baked Yogurt Tart

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

45 mins

This incredibly simple but superbly delicious vanilla-spiked tart is very close to a custard, but made with strained yogurt. Originally made with "labneh" - which is a thick strained yogurt, we substituted a plain Greek strained yogurt. We dressed it up with fresh organic whipped cream and some fresh strawberries. It is lightly sweet, creamy and very satisfying! We used one goose egg in place of the 3 eggs, making it a bit richer. Another alternative is duck eggs, which also have a larger yolk than chicken eggs.

Servings: 6

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter melted
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

FOR THE FILLING

1 lb. labneh
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs

Instructions

Make the crust

Heat oven to 350°.
Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in butter and vanilla until dough forms; press into bottom and up sides of a 9" Springform pan.
Using a fork, prick dough all over.
Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans; bake until pale golden, 13–15 minutes.
Remove paper and weights and bake until golden brown, 8–10 minutes more; let cool.

Make the filling

Lower oven to 300°.
Whisk labneh, sugar, vanilla, salt, and eggs in a bowl until smooth; pour filling into crust.
Bake until just set in the center, about 20 minutes.
Let cool before serving.

Recipe Notes

Make sure to use the highest quality vanilla extract, as it really will make this dessert! We have used and have fallen in love with Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla bean paste from King Arthur Flour. It is absolutely scrumptious with a great aroma and delicate flavor that is wonderful.
If you are pressed for time, substitute a prepared pie crust. Then the time needed to make this is about 10 minutes of prep and the 20 minutes of baking.

Adapted from Saveur Magazine #163

We made this yogurt tart with a fresh goose egg, as one of those monsters is equal to 3 large chicken eggs. Goose and duck eggs have more yolk than other eggs, so the dish winds up being richer and much more full of flavor. Here’s the comparison on size, as well as the glamor photo of the incredible vanilla paste we love.

The goose egg will fill my hand, while I can hold 3 or 4 of the chicken eggs!

Since I had the Kamado grill going, I just baked the tart on the grill with a heat diffuser underneath. The tart is almost ready here! It had just finished rising and had about 5 minutes to finish firming up.

After it sat for about 30 minutes, this is what greeted us:

And of course, the final glamor shot – ready to wow guests and birthday wife!

by Stephen Scott