Kitchen Garden Journal

"You are my saviour!" "Wow, these are the kind you shell?!  No one grows these anymore."  These are comments we heard at the farmers' market this week when we brought the first pick of shelling peas.  This vegetable seems to provoke outpourings of emotion: memories of childhood, outright joy, and intense cravings that can only be satisfied during a brief period each season.

This is the ultimate experiential vegetable.  A sweetness that makes you work for it.  We crave that experience of meditative shelling as much as the sweet result.  Just sitting on the porch, maybe enjoying a cold lemonade or a beer, shelling those peas.  Take some time out this week and just sit, shell, and let your mind wander.

Now, there is the matter of what fabulous creations you can make with your peas.  Peas crave the company of other foods that toe the line between sweet and savory: onions, bacon, cream, mint.  One market customer spoke of combining them with bacon and scallops and serving them over a dressed salad.  We have two favorite recipes for peas: fresh tagliatelle with prosciutto, peas and cream; and risi e bisi, fresh pea risotto (on the Peas page).

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• 4 Tbsp butter
  1/2 cup sliced onion
  1-2 cups freshly shelled peas
  1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  1/2 cup freshly grated parmesean
  2 ounces prosciutto, sliced extremely thin
  fresh homemade or purchased egg tagliatelle or fettucine
• 2 tbsp flat Italian parsley, chopped

Boil and salt the pasta water.  In a wide skillet, saute the onion lightly in the butter until translucent.  Add the peas and saute 5 minutes over medium heat.  Add the cream and bring to a boil, then simmer 3-5 minutes until slightly reduced.  Add the Parmesan and stir to incorporate.  Turn off the flame and tear bite-sized pieces of prosciutto into the sauce.  Meanwhile, cook the fresh pasta until it floats, drain well and add to the pan in which the sauce was cooked (alternately, combine in a serving bowl).  Toss and serve immediately with freshly ground pepper, additional cheese and parsley.  Hint: eat it all because if you reheat leftovers the next day, the cream disappears in a puddle of grease.

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