It is peak pea season and we can’t think of a better, easier, more delightful way to eat them than this simple recipe from Canal House Cooking Volume No. 3: Winter & Spring. Unshucked peas-in-their-pods are cooked in a hot cast-iron skillet until blistered. Then you just salt and eat: the perfect hors d’oeuvre for a summer evening.

“The idea is to pull the peas out of the pods with your teeth, just as you would eat an artichoke leaf. The charred bits of the pod and the salt sticks to your lips, flavoring the tender peas.”

It couldn’t be easier. Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton got the recipe from Niloufer Ichaporia King, author of  My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking.

Recipe: Iron Skillet Blistered Peas-in-their-Pods

Serves 2 to 4

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound English peas in their pod (preferably organic)
Maldon or other coarse, flaky salt

Pour a little extra-virgin olive oil in a large cast iron pan. Wipe the pan out with a paper towel, leaving the thinnest film of oil. Heat the pan over high heat. When it’s very hot, add the peas in their pods in a single layer, turning them with a spatula until they turn from bright green to a blistery blackened olive color. Work in batches. Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with salt and serve right away.

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One thought on “Recipe: Fast-and-Furious Peas in their Pod (No Shucking!)

  1. My mother always fed me fresh peas in the pod to nibble on when I was a child. No cooking. I either shucked each row of peas out of the pod or cracked the pod open and pulled them out with my teeth. Want them now. And want this toasted version even more. Yum. (And, by the way, you may not want to swallow them, but the pods, chewed on, have wonderful flavor, too.)

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