I made this for Tuesday’s Women’s Food & Farming Union London’s meeting and it was very well received.
If you like fresh, zesty and texture this is for you!
Really quick and easy to make and works a treat with frozen peas until fresh peas are in season (June).
You could try substituting the dill with mint (but use less because mint easily overpowers everything else) or do half -and-half.
Blobbed onto toasted sourdough or Ryvita pumpkin seed crackers or scooped up with individual little gem lettuce leaves…
No picture I am afraid: I was in too much of a hurry to take one when preparing for the WFU meeting and so greedy to eat the left-overs the next day I forgot…
I can tell you it looks beautiful: pea-green (obviously) with flecks of dark green + bright white.
Waitrose sell bags of ready washed pea shoot which would make a lovely garnish, but why not grow your own? A lot cheaper and fun.
Serves 4 as a starter
You will need:
150g peas (podded weight if using fresh)
1 garlic clove, green shoot removed and chopped very finely or use a garlic press or pestle & mortar
4 tbsp finely snipped fresh dill
100g Feta, crumbled
25g freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp lemon juice
2.5 tbsp olive oil (I have just opened a bottle of 2009 oil from the Fattoria La Vialla estate in Italy – very grassy + peppery, delish!)
This is what you do:
1. blitz the peas in a food processor: pulse for short burst, you want the peas to retain some shape. If using frozen, don’t bother defrosting the peas first.
2. tip into a bowl
3. add all the other ingredients and mix lightly until paste-like
4. check the seasoning: you’ll probably want to add some freshly ground black pepper but won’t need to add salt because the Feta and Parmesan add enough
5. now you are ready to tuck in but have a good sniff (or lung full) first: Spring on a plate!
Bon appetit!
Monique
Savvy Cook's Blog 