Sugar Snap Peas
These tasty little peas are great raw or to add
crunchy sweetness to any dish
Sugar Snap Pea and Potato
Cakes
10 sugar snap peas trimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups salad mix
1 carrot peeled into curls
Bring a small saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Add the snap peas
and blanch in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and cool slightly, cut
into thin slivers. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium
heat, add the onion and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and
cook for 2 minutes. Place in a large bowl and cool slightly. Add the snap
peas, potatoes, cheese, flour, slat and pepper to the bowl, stir until well
blended, shape into 8 round cakes. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the remaining oil
in the same skillet over medium heat, add 4 cakes and cook for 8 minutes
turning once or until browned and heated through. Remove the cakes to a
plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining cakes. Evenly divide the
salad mix and carrot curls among 4 plates and top with the cakes.
Chicken and Snap Pea
Wild Rice Salad
1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice
6 cups water
1/3 cup tarragon vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2/3 cup safflower oil
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, strings removed
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
Directions
1. Bring the wild rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender but
not mushy, 20 to 45 minutes depending on the variety of wild rice. Drain off
any excess liquid, fluff the rice with a fork, and cook uncovered 5 minutes
more. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and refrigerate until cold.
2. Whisk the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, garlic, dried tarragon, black
pepper, and red pepper flakes in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Pour the
safflower oil into the dressing in a thin, steady stream while whisking
vigorously until the oil has been fully incorporated into the dressing; set
aside. Stir the chicken, celery, parsley, and green onion into the cooled
wild rice. Stir in the dressing until evenly blended. Cover the rice
mixture, and refrigerate 4 hours to overnight.
3. Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the sugar
snap peas, and cook uncovered until just tender, about 30 seconds. Drain in
a colander, then immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes until
cold to stop the cooking process. Once the peas are cold, drain and cut into
1-inch diagonal pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir the peas and
toasted almonds into the rice mixture just before serving.
Crepes with
Stir Fried Greens & Bok Choy
3 eggs
1-tablespoon dark sesame or toasted peanut oil
1-tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for the pan
1-cup water
¾ cup milk or soymilk
½ teaspoon salt
1-cup flour
1-bunch scallions
¼ cup black or white sesame seeds.
1 bunch Bok Choy
1-cup snow or snap peas
Sea salt
1 tablespoon roasted peanut oil
To make the crepes, combine the first 6 ingredients I a blender on high
speed. Add the flour, blend again for 10 seconds. Pour the batter into a
bowl and set aside to rest. Trim and wash the scallions, including an inch
or more of the greens. Slice them very, very thinly on the diagonal. Toast
the sesame seeds and set them aside. Preheat the oven to 250 F. Heat a
9-inch nonstick pan (about 7 inches at the base) with a little vegetable
oil. Spread it around with a paper towel. When the pan is hot, add 1/3-cup
batter and swirl it around the pan. Scatter some scallions and sesame seeds
over the top and cook until golden on the bottom, about one minute. Loosen
the crepe, flip it over, and cook the other side until it is dry, then slide
it onto a plate. Continue making crepes until all the batter is used,
stacking them on top of one another. If a crêpe sticks, wipe out the pan
before going on to the next. Wrap the crepes in foil and put them in the
preheated oven when you start the vegetables. Cut the bok choy lengthwise
into quarters, or sixths if they are on the plump side. Silver the peas on
the diagonal and wash the pea greens. Bring a wide nonstick skillet of water
to a simmer; add salt and the bok choy. Simmer for 2 minutes, then drain.
(This can be done ahead of time, but if so, rinse the bok choy to keep it
from cooking as it cooks.) Return the skillet to the stove and turn the heat
to high. Add the peanut oil, swirl it around the pan, and add the
vegetables. Stir-fry until tender-crisp and bright green. Season with salt
and turn into a serving dish. Present the crepes in a stick, the greens in a
dish, and let each person assemble his or her own. Or place an open crêpe
(sesame side facing up) on a plate, with some of the vegetable in the
middle. This is a very pretty presentation. From Local Flavors by Deborah
Madison