Pea Spread (BEST summer recipe, to date!)
July 19, 2009 § 8 Comments
If you’re a fan of hummus, or really any kind of thick spread, this recipe will be right up your alley. I know fresh peas will take a little while to shell, but the flavor and texture are incomparable to the frozen, wrinkly variety in the freezer isle. This recipe is so simple and I promise you, the outcome is out of this world!
Words of caution:
The first time I made this recipe, I thought a measly 3/4 of a cup of shelled peas, blended away, would last a couple of days, since I was making it just for me — maybe even a whole week if I portioned it out for my lunches.
It was gone in a day and a half, easy. This week, I planned ahead: I just got back from the Union Square market with a gigantic bag of shelling peas. We’ll see if I can make this dip last ’til Wednesday.
P.S. This recipe was inspired by and tweaked from Mark Bittman (heart throb).
Ingredients (serves 1-2):
3/4 cup shelled peas
8 leaves basil
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup roasted garlic skapes (about 10 skapes, chopped)
Methods:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Roast garlic scapes approximately 15 minutes minutes until fragrant, softened and slightly crispy around the edges. Meanwhile, shell peas.
2. Heat a small pot of boiling water and steam/boil peas about 2 minutes, until bright green and al dente.
3. In a cuisanart/blender, whirl peas, roasted scapes, 8 basil leaves, a little sea salt and parmesan cheese. If more liquid is needed, add a little water or olive oil. I like my spreads to be a little chunky, so I didn’t blend into a thick puree. If you prefer a smooth, more hummus-like spread, keep blending until it reaches desired consistency.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, nut-free, SCD-safe*
*For those on the SCD-diet: If you haven’t introduced peas yet, do so a bit at a time and see how you feel. The high starch content of peas can upset the stomach, so be mindful when just starting out.
Regina Rae 
This I can do! My peas are almost ripe outside. But– Sandy just found them, and Forrest says he found him grazing my pea pods last night!! Apparently my little fence no long means anything to him. Grrrrr.
This looks fantastic- keep ’em coming.
Kathi
I’ll be trying this one in a few hours…I’ll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Finally made this- and it was fantastic. I felt like I could have drunk the pea glob (I blenderized mine pretty well). I have a feeling it is the garlic that I was addicted to, but whatever it was wonderful. I bought a huge bag of peas, so I’ll probably be making it again!
I did substitute parmesan cheese for some pepper jack cheese (which I threw into the blender, about the same quantity) and that was scrumptious.
Thanks for another good recipe creation!
Kathi
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