Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Peas and pea shoots with sausage

I have to admit, I got excited when I saw pea shoots at the farmer’s market. In my area, pea shoots are one of the first spring vegetables to show up, and I try to take advantage of their short season. The bunch I picked up this weekend was covered in purple flowers.

I’ve had my eye on this recipe from Jose Andres' Tapas cookbook for quite a while. Peas and pea shoots are cooked with leek, onion and a little bit of sausage and bacon to make a light and delicious dish. I served this as a main course, but you could also serve it as a side. The original recipe calls for butifarra, which is a type of Spanish pork sausage. I didn’t have time to seek out butifarra, so I went with a link of italian turkey sausage which worked well.

I made quite a few changes to the original recipe, but one change was unintentional. You see, the version in the book called for fresh mint. I went out to my garden, and painstakingly picked some tiny mint leaves to sprinkle over the top. I came back inside, set them on the kitchen counter and then promptly forgot about them. So, no mint in my version, but feel free to add it.

This was a really delicious meal – a wide variety of tastes and textures, and relatively healthy too. What more can you ask for?

Peas and pea shoots with sausage
Serves 2 as a main course
Adapted from Tapas

1/2 c white onion, finely chopped
1 leek, light green and white part only, finely chopped
2 slices of bacon, coarsely chopped
1 mild pork or turkey sausage, casing removed
1/4 c chicken stock
1 1/2 c fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 c pea shoots
salt to taste

Heat a large saucepan over high heat. Add the bacon, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, drain on paper towels. Reserve about 2 teaspoons of bacon fat in the pan, pour off the rest. Add the leek and onion to the pan, saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage, break up into small pieces, and cook until the sausage is done. Pour the chicken broth into the pan and add the peas and pea shoots. Cook until the peas are done and the pea shoots have just wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt.


86 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely dish! Perfect for spring. I'm not sure I actually had pea shoots, I'm going to look in my store this weekend.

Christina Kim said...

Lovely dish! Simple and nutritious. By the way, do you take your food photos in a studio? Do you simply use a plain white background? Thanks, I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful and delicious! I'm always doing that with herbs.

Pearl said...

i love pea shoots!
and that photo of the dish is gorgeous! i love the bright pop of color :)

Annie said...

I've never had pea shoots before. Your dish looks so beautiful!

Sarah said...

Beautiful! Your photos are getting better and better.

Kiezie said...

I've never tried pea shoots! I'll have to keep my eye out for some. And I love my farmers market, even when it's raining!! Looks great!

Unknown said...

Ooooh, I love Jose Andres! That recipe looks light and delicious. You're so lucky to have a garden you can head out and pick mint from!

Rosie Hawthorne said...

The pansies are lovely.

Barbara Bakes said...

I just get more and more impressed with every post - pea shoots are gorgeous - who knew!

Reeni said...

What a pretty spring dish! The flavors are awesome! I've never had pea shoots, either. But now I want to!

Kerstin said...

Such a beautiful dish! I've never had pea shoots before, so I'll have to check them out.

Unknown said...

It looks too pretty to eat! What a great idea!

Selba said...

Wow! It's so beautiful like flower arrangement!

Kim said...

This has to be the prettiest salad I have ever seen! Beautiful! Love the blog.

LaDue & Crew said...

That is gorgeous! Almost too pretty to eat!

Dewi said...

Wow Sara, this is the most beautiful dish I've aver seen. I love pea shoots, and always get them from the chinese market. Delicious.
Cheers,
elra

Anonymous said...

I love the way you use flowers! It adds such a gorgeous colour palette :)

The Purple Carrot said...

I've never had pea shoots but that meal looks SO very good!!! I'm pretty sure I would love it! : )

Donna-FFW said...

It looks so elegant. Nutritious, pretty, tasty, and your photo is just gorgeous!! I have never had pea shoots, I wonder if they sell them here by me..

Heather S-G said...

This is so pretty. A combo I would have never thought of...plus, I don't think I've ever seen pea shoots! Sounds tasty, too.

Miette said...

Very nice ! What a wonderful dish with gorgeous colors ! I love it !

Cheers,

Miette

Debbie said...

I have never heard of pea shoots but your dish looks wondeful. Great pictures!

Robin said...

That has to be the prettiest dish I have ever seen. Love the flowers on there and the flavors are perfect! Thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe.

Cassie said...

Your food is always so beautiful. That looks amazing.

Culinary Wannabe said...

The purple flowers go nicely with it as well! :) I've never used pea shoots before, but have been seeing them pop up a few places. Going to have to check them out.

Cathy said...

Gorgeous picture Sara. The dish looks tasty.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Oh, that dish is so Spring-like and beautiful! Marvelous!

Cheers,

Rosa

Olga said...

So pretty! And I love those flowers.

stephchows said...

Sara you ALWAYS make the prettiest meals :) I'm always starving by the time I'm done cooking and just want to eat so never end up spending enough prep time on my photos. Good job!

Cakebrain said...

What a gorgeous dish! I'm a huge fan of pea shoots and sausage is a fantastic addition too! Sounds delicious! Looks amazing!

Pam said...

A perfect dish for spring - it looks fresh and delicious.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful dish. I personally enjoy the crisp fresh green taste of the pea shoots. Hard to find with a short season but worth looking for.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous greens! I also love pea shoots the simple Chinese way -- stir-fried with garlic.

Jennifer said...

Oh my gosh, that is soo beautiful a bit far out for me, but you go girl! I learned something new, I had no idea what pea shoots were!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

How pretty is that dish! Your photos are great! I try not to read your blog when Devon, one of the twins is around. If he was to see what you're making he'd expect dishes like that everyday! He'd love your house. He LOVES to try new things and doesn't shy away from them. The only thing is if he likes a dish you CANNOT change a single thing! If you do he CAN tell.
~ingrid

teresa said...

So. Pretty. It looks so yummy too, I've never even heard of pea shoots, is that sad or what. I'd love to try this.

Lyndas recipe box said...

What a beautiful and healthy dish! I haven't seen pea shoots in my stores.

The Blonde Duck said...

I love the little purple things (you can tell I'm educated.) They're so cute!

NKP said...

So gorgeous! Almost too pretty to eat.

Diana said...

Looks gorgeous -- like spring exploded on a plate! You always work with the coolest ingredients. It's really inspiring and makes me want to try some different things too!

Sara said...

Christina - I currently use a point and shoot camera with a light box, but that will be changing shortly.

Rosie - They're actually pea blossoms!

Anonymous said...

I have always wanted a recipe for pea shoots...thank you!

Stacey Snacks said...

Sara,
This is absolutely beautiful!
I can't believe it's taken me this long to find your blog!!! wow!

The Food Hunter said...

That looks way too pretty to eat.

vanillasugarblog said...

delish and oh so pretty too! gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

I don't think I've seen pea shoots around here before so I'll keep an eye out for them. Beautiful photography.

Anonymous said...

This looks great!

Jan said...

That looks beautiful, Sara, and sounds totally scrummy. Those pea shoots look pretty enough to put in a vase.

Varsha Vipins said...

lovely..That looks like a bouquet Sara..I don feel like hurting it,but the recipe screams out..its yummyy..:)

Chef E said...

That is so pretty! I am not sure I would eat it right away, just ohhh and awww over it for a few moments!

Nice, I should work with edible flowers more often...

Erica said...

Have NEVER had these before. Not only does this dish sound good, but it looks really beautiful. Again- beautiful pics :)

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said...

What a BEAUTIFUL dish! Eating spring.

Anonymous said...

Great looking dish.

I am very jealous that you have mint in your yard. I made mint ice cream last summer and had to get mint from a friend's garden.

Claudia said...

Peas and pea shoots coming end of April. Will note this. And it is so very pretty Sara. You do wonders with greens - even if you do add in the luscious bacon!

Muneeba said...

So darn pretty! I have a hard time getting creative with salads, but you've pretty much mastered it!

priscilla joy said...

What an awesome looking dish. Your pics are always so good!

Krista said...

That is absolutely beautiful!

Wow!

I've never even thought about pea shoots. I will now...

Sharon said...

Sara, these are absolutely gorgeous photos - so professional!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Pea shoots? That's a new one for me - what a delicious looking dish. Wish I had some right now!
Nancy

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

I've never seen pea shoots and they are gorgeous. I wonder if you can grow them in an herb garden? I live too deep in the mountains for our stores to ever have such a gourmet treat.

As always your pictures look like they were in a professional magazine. Terrific job.
Sam

Anonymous said...

my mouth is watering! and it just lovely too, can't wait to try this

Judy said...

Lovely to look at and delicious to eat I'm sure.

CookingCourtney said...

that looks so good!
bright, love it

Netts Nook said...

Sara I can't wait to try. What a great idea thanks for sharing.

Deborah said...

I've never had pea shoots before - I need to look for them!

Sophia Lee said...

crazy amazing. I've never had pea shoots...where can I find them?

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

This dish says Spring to me. Everything is so fresh tasting and beautiful!

SUGAMAMA'S CAFE' said...

Man Oh Man.. That looks soo good! Especially after the Meal we had the other day.... More Veggies PLEASE!

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

Pea shoots are one of my favorite vegetables and your dish looks beautiful!

Sara said...

Sam - Pea shoots are simply trimmings from pea plants - so if you can grow peas, you can grow pea shoots!

Sara - I have a ridiculous amount of mint, it grows like a weed.

Burp and Slurp - Check your local farmer's market or asian market.

Anonymous said...

If that doesn't sing "spring" I don't know what does! ;)

Usha said...

That looks so lovely and pretty !

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful dish!!

Karen said...

Beautiful dish and it looks so healthy and inviting. I don't think I've ever seen pea shoots!

Sophie said...

Beautiful! A feast for the eyes and tummy...I am so so jealous that you have a garden~I don't think I can say it enough :).

Anonymous said...

i have not seen pea shoots. what a lovely fresh green with the sausages. I would use spicy ones;-)

Anonymous said...

that dish sounds beautiful. love the photography too!

Elyse said...

What a gorgeous dish. I mean, just looking at this dish is a pleasure. It's beautiful. I love the combination of flavors going on here: lots of freshness with a bit of heartiness. I love turkey sausage, so I think that was a great sub! I need to go find myself some pea shoots!!

V.Streit said...

I looks so pretty!

Katie Zeller said...

I've never seen (for sale) or eaten pea shoots - sounds delicious. I'm excited because the green garlic has arrived - for it's 3 week season.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Beautiful colors, this is so chic.

Karen Brown Letarte said...

This sounds wonderful! A perfect dish for celebrating spring! Pea shoots are soo hard to find here in NC. And they are sooooo delicious! Trust a Spanish chef to come up with an idea like pairing ethereal pea shoots with earthy sausage. Your photos are gorgeous! :) K

Jessica604 said...

Mmmmm! That looks pretty and healthy! I'm going to make an effort to search out and visit the farmers markets in my area.

Jeph said...

If this tastes half as good as you made it look, I'm sure it's great!! I'm waiting for my peas to sprout so I can try pea shoots for the first time this year. Previously they were just, um, the things that climbed up a stick that the peas grew off've! ;-)

Jessica Lee Binder said...

That's gorgeous and should have been my wedding bouquet.