As we hurtle into summer at breakneck speed, it is worth our while to reflect for a moment on the events of the past six months.
An extremely mild winter, a very quick and relatively dry spring, and now as May slides into June, some unsettled temperatures, and weather that effects the timetable of what’s next. Add to that the advancements in hydroponics, high tunnel growing and other methods and the small world of local food systems just got more complicated.
I sometimes feel like a musician who is just a hair behind everyone else in the band. We are all singing the same tune but I’m struggling to stay on the same beat. It’s not always a bad thing in cooking to work within a fluid environment. Much like music, some of the best food I’ve done has come from the quick evaluation of where I am and the struggle to get where I need to be. As long as the tools are at your disposal and the skill level breeds confidence, creation can work at an accelerated pace without disaster occurring.
And one only has to visit the local farmers markets to see that the tools are there. We’ve had weeks now of asparagus, greens, spinach and radish. Sugar snap peas arrived last weekend, strawberries are still a constant presence. The tomatoes, some grown in Fayette County have gotten progressively better each week, losing the mealiness of the early crop, and finding moisture and flavor as they continue to come to market.
These are not summer tomatoes, rich and full of the warm sun, yet they contain the flavor of a young slightly acidic tomato poised to take the jump and suitable for just about any preparation. How can a cook not step up and take advantage of that, even this early in the season? It’s always a frustration for me that we can’t have the full array of product that seems to be parceled out each year.
Roasting the tomato intensified the flavor and released some juices that complemented the sweetness of the peas
Take the sugar snaps I had this weekend. They are a complete package: tender skins and small sweet peas developing inside. Wait too long and you’re shucking peas on the porch, so get them now. String them down the side and then your options are many. Dress them raw with a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper and a good salad oil.
Make sure to season your vinegar first before adding in the oil. The honey acts as an emulsification agent and a sweetener so add that to the vinegar first as well. Dress the raw sugar snaps and consume soon after. Remember that acid will affect the chlorophyll in green vegetables, too long in an acidic dressing and the peas will turn brown.
If you’re not into raw peas, then at least blanch and shock them in boiling salted water. It’s important to do both steps as the shocking part, done in ice water, stops the cooking process and sets the color, texture and flavor. It also retains most of the nutrients. Once prepped in this manner they can be kept several days refrigerated in a covered container. They will darken and starts to shrivel a bit after a few days so have some plans to use them quickly.
They also pick up aromas easily so keep them covered. I use the cooked sugar snaps in stir fry’s, noodle bowls, risotto and pasta. The crisp sweet flavor coupled with the peas inside make for a neat package of flavor, and really the more you flavor them the less culinary value I believe they have.
The whole point with a vegetable like this is to enhance the natural attributes and bring out what’s best in the product. Avoid the extreme methods of re-heating the peas, sautéed peas are good to a point, but if they sit too long they shrivel and darken. They will pick up fat like a sponge and then release that fat onto the plate and your palate.
If you do reheat in this manner I usually start with a medium hot pan, add a bit of stock when my peas go in, and then if desired I’ll add a bit of whole cold butter just to glaze the peas and bring out the sweetness and color. I have to admit that a bowl of fresh sugar snaps, re-heated in a bit of stock, with salt, pepper, butter and parmesan cheese is one of my favorite ways to eat peas: sweet, salty and full of flavor.
As far as bridging one season to another the addition of the roasted spring tomato with the peas made a good pairing of sweet and slightly acidic. Roasting the tomato intensified the flavor and released some juices that complemented the sweetness of the peas.
Color contrast of rust red and bright green was eye-catching. And the warmth of the broth on a cool spring evening was enough to entice even the hardest line seasonal eater to melt a bit and enjoy!
John Foster is an executive chef who heads the culinary program at Sullivan University’s Lexington campus. A New York native, Foster has been active in the Lexington culinary scene and a promoter of local and seasonal foods for more than 20 years. The French Culinary Institute-trained chef has been the executive chef of his former restaurant, Harvest, and now his Chevy Chase eatery, The Sage Rabbit, in Lexington.
