Garlic Peas
This is the first side dish recipe I ever made with non-shelled peas. I don't think I'll ever shell peas for a side dish again.
This is the first side dish recipe I ever made with non-shelled peas. I don't think I'll ever shell peas for a side dish again.
- Carbohydrate 10.2023597368488 g
- Cholesterol 7.62578125327025 mg
- Fat 3.1495846237661 g
- Fiber 3.20877529055354 g
- Protein 3.5810994032287 g
- Saturated Fat 1.87476525686208 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (121g)
- Sodium 897.628548709869 mg
- Sugar 6.99358444629523 g
- Trans Fat 0.268966464771164 g
- Calories 81 calories
Step-by-step
- Add the peas to a pot of boiling water.
- Cook them for 3 minutes.
- Take the peas out of the boiling water and put them in an ice bath.
- In a wok or large frying pan, melt the butter.
- Add the peas and remaining ingredients.
- Cook the peas, stirring or flipping often, until the shells just start to get slightly brown.
Why shell a mountain of pods when edible-pod varieties deliver maximum green crunch with zero internal waste? Snow peas offer a sweet, herbaceous profile that stands up well to aggressive aromatics like garlic and butter, especially when cooked quickly over high heat to prevent the cell walls from collapsing into mush. Utilizing the whole pod also stretches your grocery budget further by eliminating food loss before the pan even gets hot.
- Blanch the snow peas in boiling water for exactly three minutes, then plunge them immediately into an ice bath containing equal parts ice and water to halt residual cooking and lock in the bright green chlorophyll.
- Substitute neutral grapeseed oil or refined coconut oil at a one-to-one ratio if you need to replace the dairy butter for a vegan or lactose-free diet.
- Dry the blanched pods thoroughly on a lint-free kitchen towel before they hit the wok or frying pan so the butter can brown properly instead of steaming the vegetables.
- Keep the cooking temperature high and stir constantly until the exterior of the pods shows faint golden-brown spots, which indicates the natural sugars are beginning to caramelize.
- Pair this side dish with simple roasted poultry or pan-seared white fish, as the sharp garlic heat and mild peppery finish cut through rich proteins without competing for palate space.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days, though the texture will soften significantly upon reheating. Re-crisp them briefly in a hot skillet for 60 seconds rather than using a microwave to preserve some of the original bite.
