A Snap Pea Salad To Make Immediately

Plus: A Podcast & More

May 10, 2024

Hello Pizza Friends,

Last week I mentioned I would post a recipe soon for a springy snap pea salad a friend and I shared at Che Fico in San Francisco last month. It was dressed with a preserved lemon vinaigrette and included no leafy greens but lots of fresh mint, toasted walnuts, and large shavings of Pecorino. In a spread that included fontina-stuffed arancini, wood-oven roasted asparagus with aioli, and Calabrian chili and pineapple pizza, all of which we loved, we marveled most at the salad.

Here’s a visual in case you missed it:

The ensemble of spring vegetables, nuts, and cheese needed no tinkering but upon seeing a similar salad a few days later in my Instagram feed from Decades, which did include some leafy greens, I thought combining the two concepts might be nice:

It looked as though Decades used baby kale or arugula, and in my search for some sort of tender green, I came upon a tub of “sweet pea leaves,” which felt right: how nice to reunite the peas with their leaves? So here we are:

For this salad, you’ll blanch the snap peas and peas in boiling water for 1 second, which is enough time to transform the hue of the vegetables from matte to bright green without removing any crispness. While the water boils, you’ll toast walnuts, dice an onion, and shave some cheese.

For simplicity, rather than create a new preserved lemon dressing, I’ve used the simple lemon vinaigrette I rely on often this time of year. It takes no time to whisk together, and one batch will yield enough for many a snap pea salad.

I’ve made this one two nights in a row, and I foresee the trend continuing through the weekend and beyond. I hope you love it, Friends. More pizza content coming soon… promise!

She’s My Cherry Pie Podcast

Early last week I had the chance to talk with

Jessie Sheehan

, author of Snackable Bakes, a great baking book filled with easy and delicious recipes, and host of the She’s My Cherry Pie podcast. It was a blast. Listen to our conversation here: Spotify | Apple

The Recipe: Spring Snap Pea Salad

Gather your ingredients: walnuts, red onion, peas, mint, snap peas, pecorino and lemon vinaigrette

Toast the walnuts. Drop the snap peas and peas into boiling water…

… then drain immediately. Run under cold water and throw some ice cubes over the top to stop the cooking.

Drain and dry the peas, then transfer to a bowl with the chopped onion, toasted and chopped walnuts, and mint leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then toss with the lemon vinaigrette. Add the pecorino and toss gently.