In this vlog, I talk about the best peas to eat fresh, and what to cook—and what to save for planting. I include a favorite recipe!

Summer Bounty: Potato and Shrimp Salad with Peas

Eat fresh peas! In this vlog, I talk about the best peas to eat fresh, and what to cook—and what to save for planting. I include a favorite recipe, too!

Cooking Note (from my book, FoodWISE): This recipe calls for a cup of the juicy seeds—whether fresh, canned, or frozen. Of course, steaming, canning, pressure sealing, and then bouncing along a bumpy interstate can seem like an industrial-style assault, but you can use canned peas for a casserole and the dish is still tasty. The peas do a little better with flash freezing: they endure a blast of frigid air, bob along in ice water, and then spill into packages and bags. They’re still peas, and still good food.

Fresh pea substitute:

If you can’t find fresh peas, consider using fresh sugar snap peas—usually easy to find in stores.

Concerned about the source of those out-of-season veggies? Try to find some closer to home. Either processed or fresh, “cooked until tender” means just that—don’t overcook. To test for doneness, take a fork with thin tines, and puncture one of the peas on the top of the pile in your saucepan.

Garden note:

It’s so easy to grow moist, juicy peas in the garden—but, let these vines go unattended and the seeds will eventually solidify into pure starch! Of course, this might be your intention: the seeds dry easily in their pods on the vine and maybe you want to save them to plant next year.

Recipe:

Potato and Shrimp Salad with Peas Serves 4–6 Equipment: Vegetable steamer basket in a medium- or large-sized cooking pot with lid, large-sized saucepan, large mixing bowl Prep time: 20–25 minutes, plus 10–15 minutes for shelling peas if you are using fresh, and 20 minutes for peeling and deveining shrimp

INGREDIENTS

8 small red potatoes, cut into medium-sized cubes (I do not remove peels—but wash thoroughly, depending on source, if not removing)

1 lb fresh shrimp

1 cup shelled fresh green peas

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced  

tsp each salt and black pepper, or to taste

PREPARATION

Using the steamer basket in approximately 2/3 cup of water, steam the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Set aside.

Steam peas for about 2–4 minutes or until just tender. Set aside.

Steam shrimp for about 3 minutes. Let cool, then peel away shells, and “devein” (pull or cut away) the thin dark strip from the back of the shrimp (obviously, you can use frozen, or even canned, shrimp and skip this step entirely—just be informed as to where that convenience food is coming from).

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl or directly into a serving dish.

Serve hot or cold.