Peas with Fettuccine, Basil and Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are not essential here; sunflower seeds or pine nuts are just as good. I have a jar of pumpkin seeds in the kitchen which I constantly pick at, and they often get added to food that will benefit from something nutty and crunchy, such as pasta. Use mint instead of the basil if you like, and use another shaped pasta if you have no fettuccine. Be resourceful.
For 2 as a main dish
50g pumpkin seeds
fresh fettuccine for two
225g shelled peas, fresh or frozen
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic, crushed
8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn to shreds
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Scatter the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and cook under a preheated hot grill until lightly blown and fragrant. Cook the pasta, uncovered, in boiling salted water, until tender.
Put the peas and oil in a small pan, add the garlic and the basil, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, or 7 if using frozen.
Drain the pasta and toss in a large bowl with the hot peas and their olive oil, and the toasted pumpkin seeds.
Peas cooked in butter with fresh garlic
New season's garlic, which is fresh and mild with a soft fragrance, is perfect with peas. Use older cloves if that is what you have, but the dish loses some of its subtlety.
For 4 as an accompaniment
3 cloves of garlic, the fresher the better
75g butter
450g shelled peas, fresh or frozen
a small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
6 tablespoons vegetable stock or water
salt
Peel the garlic and slice each clove very thinly. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and tip in the garlic. Cook over a gentle heat until the garlic has perfumed the butter, about 5-7 minutes. On no account should the garlic colour.
Add the peas, a drop or two of water and the parsley. Pour in the stock or water, add a little salt, and cover with a lid. Simmer fresh peas for 15 minutes and frozen for 6 or 7. Serve alongside grilled fish or meat, with rice or pasta, or best of all, with mashed potato to soak up the buttery, garlicky juices.
Warm Pea and Lentil Salad
The great thing about this light, warm salad is the sharp contrast of flavour and texture; the nutty lentils with the fresh green peas, the earthy pulses and the sharpness of the lime. Small lentils, such as the French de Puy, need no soaking and cook surprisingly quickly.
For 4 as an accompaniment, or 2 as a light lunch
175g lentils, green or brown
175g shelled peas, fresh or frozen
4 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
4 fresh chives, snipped into short lengths
juice of 1 lime or lemon
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Wash the lentils in a sieve under running water. There is no need to soak them. Place them in a saucepan, cover with water, add a little salt and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 12 minutes. They should be cooked through but still have bite to them.
Tip the peas into a small saucepan with the oil and chives. Cook over a gentle heat for 8-12 minutes, or 5-6 if you are using frozen peas.
Drain the lentils and place them in a serving dish, tip over the hot peas together with their cooking juices. Squeeze the lime or lemon juice over the peas and lentils, grind over a little pepper and salt and serve hot.
Pea and Artichoke Heart Stew
For 2
100 ml olive oil
4 large cloves of fresh young garlic, sliced
2 x 225g tins artichoke hearts
juice of lemon
350g shelled peas
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
A light, fresh-tasting vegetable dish that works either as a meal in itself, perhaps a light lunch with bread and cheese to follow, or served with chicken or fish.
Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy pot and then add the garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 1 minute until fragrant. The garlic should not colour at all. Meanwhile, drain the artichoke hearts and cut them into quarters.
Add them to the pot with the lemon juice and the peas. Pop in the thyme and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in half the parsley. Continue to cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir in the last of the parsley and serve in bowls with open-textured crusty bread.
Pea and Pink Grapefruit Salad
I know this sounds odd, but the slight tartness of the fruit is fun with the sweet peas. Simmer 225g shelled peas in 3 tablespoons olive oil and a tablespoon water for 7-8 minutes.
Tip the lot into a cold bowl. Peel and cut a pink grapefruit into segments. Finely shred a handful of crisp cos lettuce leaves. Mix, season and serve.
The wine list
Peas with fettuccine, basil and pumpkin seeds: 2001 Cono Sur Chardonnay (£4.99, Sainsbury's) A typically flavoursome, well-priced Chardonnay from one of Chile's best wineries, this shows restrained oak and notes of citrus fruit and white peach.
Peas cooked in butter with fresh garlic: 2001 Marqués de Cáceres Rioja (£5.49, Budgens) White Rioja is one of those wines that time forgot, usually with some justification, but this weighty, aromatic, unoaked Viura is as fresh as a newly picked apple.
Warm pea and lentil salad: 2001 Domaine du Boulas, Côtes du Rhône (£4.99, Marks & Spencer) A perfumed, spicy southern Rhône blend of mainly white Grenache with 20 per cent Clairette. This is a powerful, peppery, honeysuckle-scented white wine with masses of character and throat-warming alcohol.
Pea and pink grapefruit salad: 2000 Tesco Finest Marlborough Sauvignon (£6.49) The hint of sweetness in this gooseberry and greengage-like Kiwi white should partner the grapefruit in this dish. A classic Marlborough white at an appealing price.
Pea and artichoke heart stew: 2001 Reuilly, Henri Beurdin (£6.49, Majestic) Sometimes regarded as poor man's Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, Reuilly can be wonderful stuff at its best. This taut, minerally, smoky Sauvignon is a stunner.
