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!

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5 from 1 reviews

Fresh Spring Pea Salad with Dill

This salad is so easy, with fresh green English peas, shallots, dill all team up with a little bacon for a wonderful side salad for any occasion, but perfect for Easter brunch.

Serves: small cold salad (3-4 servings)

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  5 mins

Total time:  15 mins

What to get:

• 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

What to do:

1. Cook bacon on stove, till crisp, chop & set aside.
2. 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.
3. Drain peas thoroughly, and place in large mixing bowl.
4. To bowl, add shallots, dill, lemon zest, shaved cheese, bacon, mayo & oil, combining well.
5. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
6. *If peas are not sweet (mine were very sweet), you can add a very small pinch of sugar as desired.
7. *Add additional mayo, oil, salt or pepper as needed.
8. Refrigerate salad covered until ready to serve, slightly chilled.

Notes:

This one is good for a small family as a side, and for a BBQ, but can easily be doubled or increased for brunch, etc. Make ahead and store in the fridge! Seasonal, fresh peas are the best if you can find them!

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3.5.3208

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!