I was so excited to see English Peas in my Talley Farms CSA box this week! They are such a delicacy and so much more flavorful with a much nicer texture than frozen or canned peas. You can barely compare them to their pre-packaged counterparts. I decided to team them up with my Talley Farms golden beets for a fresh salad. I’ve been wanting to try spiralizing beets and this was my chance. I adapted a recipe from Inspiralized, the spiralizing guru and one of my favorite blogs to follow. I created my own version of a Golden Beet Noodle and Pea Salad.
The first step was to shell the peas. Unlike snap peas or sugar peas, you do not eat the pod from English Peas. But not to worry, shelling them is a cinch and takes no time at all. I shelled enough to make 1 1/2 cups of raw peas and then I steamed them for about 3 minutes.
On to spiralizing the beets. They need to be peeled with both ends cut for a flat surface so they can be set up on the spiralizer. (Check out my aStore from Amazon on my website for the spiralizer I love best) Beets are quite easy to spiralize since they are firm and don’t have any seeds or core center. A quick toss with a little olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and into the oven for a 10 minute roast.
This salad is so easy to put together, it’s hardly any work at all! I wanted to add some fresh shredded baby romaine, a little crumbled feta and a hint of fresh mint as I knew the flavors would compliment each other well. For an extra touch, I added some sliced preserved lemon (I always have some in my fridge cuz they’re so easy to make and they last forever). With the lemon in the dressing, it was just the perfect addition to highlight the salad.
The dressing is a light mixture of tahini, lemon juice, honey, garlic and olive oil. All mixed together with a little water and we’re set to assemble. I plated the salad on individual plates in baby lettuce leaves to give them a nesting place and add more greens to the dish.
What resulted was a really nice mixture of texture and taste, very fresh and subtle with a little punch from the mint, feta and preserved lemon. Healthy and delicious!
GOLDEN BEET NOODLE AND PEA SALAD
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- salt & pepper, to taste
Salad:
- 1.5 cups cooked peas
- 1 large beet (or 2 medium), peeled and spiralized (Blade C)
- 1 cup shredded baby romaine or 1 cup arugula
- 1/8 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon chopped mint plus more for garnish
- 1/2 preserved lemon, meat and pith removed, rinsed and sliced thin (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Whisk together all of the ingredients – except for the water – in a medium bowl until creamy. Add water as needed to make creamy. Taste and adjust to your preference.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out the beet noodles. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss together to coat. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 10 minutes or until softened.
- In a bowl, toss together the beets, peas, lettuce, mint and preserved lemon if using. Transfer to individual plates or serving bowls lined with 1 or 2 baby lettuce leaves, sprinkle with feta cheese and drizzle with lemon-tahini sauce. Serve with extra sauce.
Send me a note if you’d like to get instructions on how to prepare your own jar of preserved lemons. I don’t suggest purchasing them ready made as the difference is amazing and they are so simple to do yourself.
(Printable recipe can be found in my recipe index under Salads)
2 opinions on “Fresh English Peas are a Gift from the Heavens!”
Comment posting is disabled at the moment.
I’m interested in your preserved lemon recipe. I’ve made a lot of your recipes with my Talley Farms box. Delicious!
Hi Patricia, Thank you for your note. I have also received several other requests so I am going to write a post on how to do the preserved lemons.