Sonoma County chefs share fresh takes on springtime peas

It’s hard to find a vegetable that shouts spring as sweetly as the simple garden pea, with tiny seeds lined up neatly inside the pod like a string of pearls.

“Peas are basically seeds, so you’re looking at the essence of the plant,” said John McReynolds, executive chef of the Stone Edge Farm in Sonoma. “There’s something about them being nestled in the pod that’s appealing, on a childhood level. It just makes us feel good.”

The fleeting, cool weather window for garden peas (also known as English peas) is open now, as well as for the crunchy sugar snap and snow peas. It will slam shut once the hot weather arrives for good, and stay shut until the cool weather returns in the late fall. Now is the time to snap up as many peas as you can and cook the sweet orbs into all kinds of savory soups and salads, buttery pastas and spring ragouts.

“My favorite combination would be spring garlic and spring onions, shaved thin, with peas and bacon, fresh pasta and fava beans,” said Chef Ari Weiswasser of the Glen Ellen Star. “It’s like a springtime carbonara,” an Italian pasta made with eggs, cheese and bacon.

Although peas are one of the easiest and earliest spring crops to grow, the plants are sensitive to frost, and their roots do best in soil that is well drained, not water-logged. During a wet, cold winter, that makes the planting a bit tricky.

This year, Leisen’s Bridgeway Farms in Santa Rosa planted peas after the hard frost was over, around President’s Day. The farm expected to start harvesting its garden peas by the end of April, and the sugar snap peas in May.

“A lot of farmers don’t grow them because they take a lot of labor to pick,” said Janet Leisen, co-owner of the farm that sells its produce at several Santa Rosa farmers markets. “We also grow microgreen pea shoots, which are 40 percent more nutritious than the adult vegetables.”

At Scopa and Campo Fina restaurants in Healdsburg, chef/owner Ari Rosen has been buying young pea shoots this spring from Bernier Farms and using the sprouts and their delicate tendrils in dishes that showcase “the delicious pea sweetness of spring.”

“We’re coming out of winter and root vegetables, and we just want to highlight spring,” he said. “You get a sweetness in the shoot that is in the peas.”

Pea and Proscuitto Pasta is a classic Italian dish that highlights the sweet peas of spring and complements them with a few of their favorite foils: butter and Parmesan, prosciutto, white wine and fresh mint or chili flakes. Rosen gives that flavor profile a twist by mashing the pea sprouts into a pesto with Parmesan, pine nuts and olive oil.

“The versatility of the pesto is great,” he said. “Once you make it, you want to put it on your toast in the morning or on eggs Benedict. There is such a short window, and you want it on everything until you are sick of it.”

At Scopa, Rosen serves fresh tagliolini pasta with morel mushrooms and prosciutto, white wine and olive oil, topped with the Pea Shoot Pesto.

If you put a little olive oil over it, the pesto will last for about five days in the fridge, he said. You can use it as a garnish on a spring soup or add it to your scrambled eggs.

“The whole idea with pesto is you don’t want to cook them a lot, so they are the last element that goes in,” he said. “That way you maintain the freshness of the raw basil or pea shoots.”

At the Glen Ellen Star, Weiswasser sources fresh peas from Comanche Creek Farm outside of Chico to make a fresh Spring Pea Soup. The soup was inspired by a sauce the chef once served over scallops and has been on the restaurant’s menu since it opened in 2012. “Every spring, we run it for at least six or seven weeks,” he said of the soup. “Everybody loves it.”

To make the simple soup, Weiswasser simmers a Parmesan stock with water and cheese rinds, then blends it with blanched peas in a Vitamix for two minutes. When it’s ready to serve, he adds some creme fraiche and mint, then garnishes it with a ricotta dumpling.

McReynolds likes to showcase the season’s fresh garden peas and crunchy sugar snap peas in a creamy burrata salad, garnished with radishes, pea shoots (with tendrils attached) and a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil.

“The shoots have a flavor all their own,” he said. “It’s not a mature flavor. It’s more a little whisper of pea flavor.”

Meanwhile, Kay Baumhefner of Petaluma, a cooking instructor who writes a blog called “Come Home to Cooking,” enjoys blending all the “innocent beauties” of spring in a casual recipe for baby leeks and asparagus, carrots and peas braised in butter.

“There’s only one time of year when we get to eat true spring vegetables,” she writes. “And this is it.”

Here is the casual recipe from Baumhefner, which does not call for exact amounts. You could also add some green garlic and new potatoes to this braise. “Individual cooking times will vary depending upon the youth, freshness and size of your pieces,” she writes. “So monitor them carefully.”

Braised Spring Vegetables

Makes 4 to 6 servings as side

- Leeks

- Carrots

- Asparagus

- English peas (or sugar snap peas)

- Butter

- Small bay leaf

- Salt and pepper

- Nutmeg

- Fresh herbs (mint, parsley, thyme, chives or chervil)

Clean, trim and cut the leeks, carrots and asparagus. Shell the peas (or substitute sugar snap peas, cut on the diagonal).

Melt a hunk of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat; then add the bay leaf and leeks. Stir, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until almost tender (about 5 minutes).

Stir in the carrots. Add several tablespoons water, salt, pepper and nutmeg; cover and cook until almost tender (2 to 5 minutes).

Stir in the asparagus, add a little more water as needed to keep the vegetables from browning; cover and cook until almost tender (2 to 5 minutes).

Stir in the peas; cover to steam for just a minute. Taste for seasoning and stir in the fresh herbs.

The following two recipes are from Ari Rosen, who serves the pasta at Scopa in Healdsburg.

Pea Shoot Pesto

Makes 11/2 cups

3 cups pea shoots

2 cloves peeled garlic

3/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (preferably Dry Creek Olive Co.)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

- Pinch of salt to taste

Put pea shoots, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan and a small amount of the olive oil into a food processor or Vitamix. Pulse until coarsely ground, then add remaining extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice while running, then salt to taste. You want a coarsely ground product, so do not puree for too long.

Pasta with Pea Shoot Pesto, Prosciutto and Mushrooms

Makes 4 servings

1 pound tagliolini (or linguini)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots, diced

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup water

1 cup morel mushroom (or mushroom of your choice)

4 slices prosciutto, finely diced

1/2 cup English peas, shucked and blanched (if they are small and tender, put in raw)

1/2 cup pea shoot pesto

1/2-3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup pea sprouts (for garnish)

Get a large pot of water boiling, salt the water to just under sea water saltiness.

Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan add the olive oil, shallots and mushrooms and sauté over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add white wine before shallots begin to brown. After the white wine has reduced down to almost dry, add the 1 cup of water adn the prosciutto and reduce down again to almost dry. Then add peas and set pan aside, off the heat.

Boil the pasta according to the package directions. About 1 to 2 minutes before the pasta is ready, place the pan back on the stove and add a few tablespoons of the pasta water and bring to a boil. Turn off flame and add the pea shoot pesto. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon to incorporate the pesto with the water and veggies.

Drain the cooked pasta. Add the cooked pasta into the pan with the pesto, toss with sauce and half of the Parmesan. Place in a large bow and garnish with the remainder of the Parmesan and top with pea sprouts. Serve immediately.

The following recipe is from John McReynolds’ “Stone Edge Farm Cookbook.” “I love burrata,” he said. “In spring and summer, it’s great with green things, like fava beans and peas and sugar snap peas.”

Burrata Cheese and Two Peas Salad with Radish and Mint

Makes 2 servings

1/2 cup freshly shelled English peas

1/3 cup sugar snap peas or snow peas, stems and strings removed

1/3 cup thinly sliced radishes

1/2 cup pea tendrils (shoots)

12 large mint leaves, cut into chiffonade

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- Juice of 1 lemon, preferably Meyer

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 whole burrata cheese (about 6 ounces) cut into 4 slices

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the peas and snap peas for 30 seconds, then plunge them into ice water, drain in a colander, and dry with a paper towel.

In a medium bowl, combine the English peas, sugar snaps, radishes, pea tendrils, mint, Parmesan, lemon juice and oil and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper and gently mix again.

Place two burrata slices on each plate, top with the salad and serve.

The following recipe from Chef Ari Weiswasser of the Glen Ellen Star is served every spring. Miner’s lettuce is a wild lettuce that can be foraged during the early spring, when the ground is still wet.

Spring Pea Soup with Ricotta Gnudi and Mint

Makes 4 servings

For Parmesan stock:

4 cups water

1 cup grated Parmesan or chopped rind

For pea soup:

2 cups Parmesan Stock (recipe above)

2 cups freshly shucked peas

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

4 large leaves mint

1 teaspoon sugar

8 ricotta gnudi (see recipe below)

For ricotta gnudi:

2 cups ricotta, drained for 1 hour

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan

1/2 egg, beaten

- Zest of 1 lemon

- Salt to taste

- Dash nutmeg

11/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

4 leaves miner’s lettuce (optional, for garnish)

- Salt to taste

For Parmesan stock: Bring water with chopped cheese rind to a boil, remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature. Strain and refrigerate.

For pea soup: Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Blanch peas for 3 minutes or until completely cooked. Strain off all water and transfer to a blender. Add 2 cups Parmesan stock, puree until smooth. Finish with the crème fraiche and mint. Strain into pot and bring to a simmer.

For ricotta gnudi: Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients except for flour until well combined. Add flour and mix just to combine. Dust hands in flour and measure out 1-ounce round dumplings and stagger them on a well floured plate.

Blanch gnudi, no more than 6 at a time, until they float for 20 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a saute pan with a little Parmesan stock and a knob of butter for glazing.

Taste for salt. Transfer two gnudi to each warmed bowl and pour in the soup. Garnish with miner’s lettuce.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.