Pea pods have been a true revelation to me during the quarantine period. The truth is I have always disliked discarding them, and so I experiment with them as much as I can. I love this recipe, which I find to be not only really surprising, but also thoughtful, and of course – delicious! The only ‘difficulty’ with this recipe is that you will have to get rid of the pods’ inner membrane (which can be rather fibrous – even after cooking). Of course, I had so much time on my hands during the quarantine period that I didn’t mind cleaning the pea pods one at a time, but if you’re not a big fan of this chore (which I completely understand!) you may still follow the same recipe and turn the pea pods into a beautiful, fresh, seasonal soup instead! Find that recipe here

Ingredients:

Approx. 600 g pea pods
Juice from half a lemon
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp. oil
A knob of butter
1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
Zest from one lemon

After placing a pot of salted water to boil, clean the pea pods by removing their ends and inner membranes. This is done by taking one of the ends, folding it in, and pinching inwards, then, slide your thumb beneath and remove the glossy membrane to separate it from the pea pod. If the membrane breaks while you’re doing this, try again using the other end.

Discard the inner membrane and blanch the pea pods for about 3-4 minutes. In the meantime, combine the tablespoon of olive oil and knob of butter in a large saucepan, add the finely-chopped onion, lemon zest, and mix well with a wooden spoon until the onion is slightly translucent. Drain the pea pods using a slotted spoon (do not discard the water!), then add the pea pods to the onion mix, add extra lemon zest, lemon juice, and a few tbsp. of the saved cooking water. Sauté for a few minutes until the peas are well-coated in the onion sauce. Enjoy! x

Sautèed pea pods