It’s already Good Friday, and it finds me putting together my meal plan for Easter weekend! Spring brings us many welcomed vegetables, and at the farmer’s market this past Sunday, I decided to focus on some English peas I came across. These little pods are going to be the perfect side dish for Sunday.
I used to love shelling fresh peas when I was little (I have no idea why), but baby green peas are still one of my favorite vegetables!
You can easily find them year-round in the freezer aisle, but fresh really can’t be beat. Instead of steaming them as I usually would, I wanted to make a cold salad with the help of some fresh dill, shallots, lemon zest, pecorino cheese, and bacon (that’s close enough to an Easter ham, right?) I wanted this to be light and fresh, so I opted to stay away from making this salad creamy with lots of mayo and sour cream, though it remains vibrant with lemon & good quality extra virgin olive oil. Okay, we do add a teaspoon of light mayo for the heck of it, but it helps bind the lil’ guys together.
This is very easy to make ahead, and a great compliment to a spring meal. Now we have no excuses but to eat our veggies and like it!

- 10 oz English peas, fresh, shelled (about 2.25 cups worth)
- 1-2 T shallots, thinly chopped
- 2 T fresh dill weed, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp mayo, light variety (I only use Best Foods!)
- ~1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 2-4 strips cooked bacon, crispy & chopped (4 if very small strips)
- 2T shaved parmesan/pecorino cheese
- ⅛ tsp extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, fine, to taste
- Cook bacon on stove, till crisp, chop & set aside.
- In ~2 cups lightly boiling water, blanch peas until tender but not overcooked or mushy (2-6 minutes), depending on peas, then immediately plunging them into bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
- Drain peas thoroughly, and place in large mixing bowl.
- To bowl, add shallots, dill, lemon zest, shaved cheese, bacon, mayo & oil, combining well.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- *If peas are not sweet (mine were very sweet), you can add a very small pinch of sugar as desired.
- *Add additional mayo, oil, salt or pepper as needed.
- Refrigerate salad covered until ready to serve, slightly chilled.
I love buying locally, so these English peas were a great find! I think this little salad is a nice alternative to simply steaming them, and they make for a perfectly pleasant cold salad, not to mention they’re nutrient-dense. Fresh dill is one of the prime spring flavors in my eyes, and it pairs really well with our sweet pods. The shallots I bought were really hot, so I cut back on the amount, though if you have sweet onion, that would be a great alternative in this case. No need to reach for that V-8, the peas have got you covered…
Only a few minutes, a few ingredients, and we have one less dish to worry about for brunch. A Happy Easter & Passover weekend to you, hopefully all in the company of good friends, good greens & good food!