I’ve recently become obsessed with peas. I’ve never thought much about them, was never forced to eat them as a child, and therefore, have never had any sort of aversion to them (unlike many people I know), but this spring, I especially was excited about the sweet little green guys, and couldn’t get enough of them, ordering anything and everything on a menu that had them in it, including everything from peas and poached eggs, to sugar snap pea salad with brown butter and almonds. English peas and sugar snap peas are my favorites. Buying them fresh and in the pods is the best way to go…more work than the shelled peas, but so worth the effort in the end. Nothing like fresh peas to make you fully aware and conscious that spring is here.
I’ve been drooling over pictures I’ve seen of smashed pea toast and thought I’d finally give it a try of my own, except instead of the more common use of regular peas or English peas, I decided to try sugar snap peas. They definitely don’t “smash” as well, but taste extra sweet and yummy. I found my peas on a trip to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, where I was also inspired for a few of my other ingredients, such as purple bell peppers (which are extra crisp and flavorful), adorable radishes, and edible flowers, called white borage. This was one of those dishes that was too pretty to eat…well, almost…
Sugar Snap Pea and Ricotta Toast
Serves 2.
Ingredients:
- 2 slices bread (I used Roan Mills’ Rosemary Glenn Country Batard, but any crusty, rustic bread works wonderfully, with or sans rosemary)
- 1 fresh clove garlic
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
- 5 lb sugar snap pea pods; remove peas from pods and save pods for another dish, or discard
- olive oil
- sea salt
- fresh-ground pepper
- ¼ purple (or any other color, preferably yellow or orange) bell pepper, sliced
- fresh basil leaves (on the small side; I used Thai basil, but any type will do)
- radishes, sliced into small rounds (I used the French Breakfast variety – cause they’re gorgeous)
- 6-8 white borage (or another edible white flower)
- lemon zest from about 1/2 a lemon
Directions:
Heat a medium sized skillet over med-high heat. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil into the skillet once it has heated up, and toast each side of the bread. Rub one side of each slice with the
garlic clove after they have cooled for a minute and can be held without burning yourself.Spread half of the ricotta onto one slice, and the rest on the other. Set toast aside. Boil about a cup of water in a small saucepan. Add peas and blanch for about a minute and a half. Turn off heat and drain peas into a small bowl. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, then distribute onto the toast on top of the ricotta.
Next, add a couple slices of bell pepper to the top of each piece of toast, along with several radish slices, basil leaves, salt and pepper, and a very small amount of lemon zest. Top with the flowers, and enjoy as soon as possible!
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