Peas and asparagus make a lovely duo
In the new cookbook Once Upon a Chef: 100 Tested, Perfected, and Family-Approved Recipes (Chronicle/Raincoast, $39.95), Jennifer Segal suggests livening up vegetables by combining two or more in a single dish.
Segal, a former restaurant chef and now a family cook and blogger, puts asparagus together with green peas, one of the best frozen vegetables, in this fast and easy dish. Her book also includes a recipe for chunky guacamole that uses peas with avocados.
Segal, who lives outside Washington, D.C., is very practical with her recommendations for the most useful kitchen equipment.
She adds tips with each recipe, including “sourcing savvy,” and offers little essays on such subjects as salting (don’t under-salt), the doneness of foods (use a thermometer), using up vegetable scraps (carrot peel in a carrot cake) and feeling free to buy good ready-made dishes to bolster a party meal.
Photographs by Alexandra Grablewski include helpful step-by-step shots with many recipes, especially in the baking chapter.
SPRINGTIME SAUTÉED ASPARAGUS AND PEAS
Serves: 4
2 tbsp (30 mL) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) minced dry shallots
1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed, cut on the diagonal in 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces (see note) 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt Freshly ground pepper 1cup (250mL) frozen green peas, thawed
1 tsp (5 mL) honey
Note: Bend a spear until it snaps between the tender and tough sections. You can then tie the bunch and cut all the ends off at about the same spot with a sharp knife.
1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and cook shallots, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, four to five minutes.
2. Add asparagus, salt and pepper to taste, and continue cooking over mediumlow heat, stirring frequently so the shallots don’t burn, for about five minutes, or until asparagus is tendercrisp.
3. Add peas and honey and cook for another minute, until peas are warmed through. Check seasonings, heat through and serve.