Marinated Spring Pea Salad

(Printable Recipe)

Fresh green peas with just a little spark of crunchy radish and green onion make this salad quick and simple, but the marinade makes it surprisingly (and almost addictively) different. This sweet and tangy dressing has much less sugar than the traditional marinade for canned pea and corn salad you may have encountered in the past. I have skipped the corn, as one starch is enough, replacing it, à la Française, with fresh crunchy radishes. Even those who think they don't like radishes will love this dish.

I was lucky enough to find these lovely purple scallions at the Farmer's Market this week, but plain green will certainly work just fine.
Steam the rinsed peas briefly in the microwave, covered tightly with plastic wrap, for 6-8 minutes or until firm but cooked through. For 2 cups of peas, use 3-5 radishes, and 3-5 scallions. 

For a nice small dice, slice crosswise and divide in half for stability, then turn the ruby red radish on its side and slice again for tiny cubes. Or just chop willy-nilly until you have some small pieces to suit you.

For the scallions, I like to use about half the green, but stop chopping if it is tough at all. 

And now for the dressing.  1/3 cup White Wine Vinegar, 1/4 cup canola oil. To this add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. (A flavorless oil like canola works better for this recipe than olive oil which contributes its own flavor.)

 Give it a good serious shake to blend and dissolve the sugar and seasonings well. This will look like too much dressing, but we're using it as a marinade so it needs to cover the vegetables well. Serving with a slotted spoon or pouring off some of the dressing beforehand is the solution.  **This salad only improves with several days in the fridge. Try to give it at least an overnight stay there before serving.**

And voila! So delicious is the spring pea. Only made better here.

THE SHOPPING LIST

Fresh Peas (OR frozen NEVER canned)

radishes

scallions (green onions)

white wine vinegar

canola oil

SummerFest at the Food Network website is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce!  This week it's peas, next week corn...hmmm, I'm thinking that calls for something that features the sweet taste of the first summer corn. In the meantime, check out these other tasty ideas for peas:

Dishin & Dishes: Smashed Pea Bruschetta with Mint
Feed Me Phoebe: Sweet Pea and Green Onion Soup
Taste With the Eyes: Peas and Pasta with a Garlicky Yogurt Sauce and Smoky Walnuts
Weelicious: Peas and Pasta
Devour: Quick Salad with Peas
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Pasta with Spring Peas, Mushrooms and Greens
Red or Green?: Szechuan Spring Peas, Asparagus, Pine Nuts and Brown Rice Salad
Blue Apron Blog: Sweet Corn & Pea Fritters with Pea Tendril Salad
Pinch My Salt: Homemade Tuna Noodle Casserole
Domesticate Me: Clean Out Fridge Frittata
Virtually Homemade: Summer Lasagna with Skinny Alfredo Sauce
The Sensitive Epicure: Pea Puree with Roasted Salmon and Chives
The Heritage Cook: Pea, Potato and Bacon Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
FN Dish: Favorite Shelled Pea Sides

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