This is one of the prettiest dishes to dress a spring — or dreaming of spring — table. After months of delicious but (let’s face it) mostly brown food, my appetite is primed for bright colors and fresh flavors.
And there are few green vegetables as vibrant and appealing as sugar snap peas. My mother served them often in a quick saute with toasted almonds. But in recent years, I have munched on them raw as a healthy, crunchy snack. I had almost forgotten what they tasted like cooked until one day last year when I was browsing through a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, “The Can’t Cook Book: Recipes for the Absolutely Terrified.”
The book is my favorite gift for young cooks, or anyone who thinks cooking is difficult. It contains appealing contemporary recipes and everything is simplified and spelled out. When I saw the picture of her minty sugar snaps, it reminded me of my mother’s dish and I had a craving that I couldn’t stop thinking about until I made them.
Because I love citrus with both mint and sugar snap peas, I added the zest and the juice of a tangerine to brighten the flavor and balance the richness of the butter. The toasted sliced almonds add a welcome crunch and, if you are like me, you will find yourself making sure that every bite includes an almond or two.
MINTY SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH TANGERINE AND TOASTED ALMONDS
Start to finish: 20 minutes
Servings: 6
1 pound sugar snap peas
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 large shallots, sliced into thin rings
Zest and juice of 1 large tangerine
Ground black pepper
10 to 15 fresh mint leaves, julienned or chopped
Coarse sea salt, such as Maldon
Nutrition information per serving: 140 calories; 90 calories from fat (64 percent of total calories); 10 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 15 mg cholesterol; 170 mg sodium; 10 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 4 g protein.
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