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THE BOUTIQUE THE WEATHER INTERACTIVE CAMPSA GUIDE
Sugar peas
by Miguel L. Castanier
This is definitely a new world. I have had some arguments with hicks from the city, and I
am also city-bred, but with a country flair, especially in the way they look, about whether sugar peas are Spanish or a foreign thing imported for the purposes of nouvelle cuisine.
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It tends to be a pointless discussion, at least for them. They will not let themselves be convinced, nor do they understand words from here. There are different words for
sugar pea in Spanish. The idea is to eat the vegetable before the peas inside grow too
big.
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Most people prepare them just like green beans, although sugar peas are cleaned by stripping away the stem and the fibers from the sides. If you are going to boil them do
it in water with salt and leave them there three or four minutes. When they are cooked,
cool them with water and ice. This will halt the cooking and give them a nice green color.
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This way we can make delicious salads. For example they go very well with duck and its byproducts such as foie gras, confit etc. One recipe I love is to prepare them with croutons, cubes of Manchego or cured goat cheese and vinaigrette dressing with Dijon-style mustard.
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In some places sugar peas are used in menestra, which is a stew of mixed vegetables, but not in place of the beans, which have another flavor, or the peas, which have a different texture. They can be added to a variety of soups. In that case it is best to cut them raw into thin strips and then add them right as you finish cooking the soup, or at the table. Keep in mind that their cooking time is just three minutes. If you cook them longer they will be watery and the color is not the same as if they are done just right.
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As far as nutrition goes short cooking times are better because this way vegetables retain their flavour and vitamins. But in this case be careful not to undercook them and serve them too firm. Fernando Point told me as much 14 years ago
in reference to some peas he found a bit firm, although I will never be too sure. For a
few months there they called me Miguel el Balines, or Miguel he of the small bullets.
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Sugar peas can also be eaten raw. Cut thin and julienne-style, or rhomboid-shaped they
are quite common on Japanese cooking.When cooked they are particularly common as side dishes for fish because they are attractive in appearance and not too strong in flavor. This respects the taste of the fish.
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Another option is to fry them. Once I tried a tempura, a real one with vegetables, shellfish, fish and meat, with a mix of ajinomoto, curry and pepper. We started off with sugar peas as a way to clean the palate and soul of all us diners. They can also be fried to season a warm salad, or as a side dish for cuttlefish balls.
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But the most common use of the sugar pea is to make pur�es. The problem with peas is
that the pod has a string that cannot be eaten or mashed. Pur�e of sugar pea is also milder in flavor.
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But what about stuffed sugar peas? This spring when the weather gets warmer I
have decided to try a stuffing made from cuttlefish or mussels. This summer I will once
again make sugar pea lasagna (the peas replace the pasta) with foie gras, walnuts and eggplant vinaigrette.
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