Every year, it’s the first pod of peas – popped open with your fingers – that signals the start of spring.
Key Facts
At this time of year, it’s imports on offer – typically from the sunnier spots of Italy or Morocco. Homegrown peas are a few months away. But Britain is actually a key producer of peas, as our climate is well-suited to the crop. The British Growers website states that we grow around 35,000 hectares of vining peas each year – the equivalent of 70,000 football pitches – which makes us 90% self-sufficient in the crop.
In recent years, purple peas have become more popular. But while they look great in the raw, their colour does not stand up to cooking. Key types of pea are podded, mange tout and sugar snaps. Peas shoots have been a favourite garnish for chefs for the last five years or so.
Uses in the Kitchen
How’s this for a fancy dish? A chef I met recently has a pea panacotta with scorched lardo and pea shoots on the menu. Pea soup is the classic dish, given all manner of fancy twists. Jamie Oliver helped to popularise the idea of a simple pea bruschetta. in fact, a hummus made from peas is surprisingly good. But the fact is that few things beat freshly picked peas eaten fresh from the pod. Pea shoots are a simple way to jazz up salads and a terrific garnish – but you didn’t need me to tell you that.
