Tag: peas

Snow peas, delicious legume of spring rich in properties – Italian Cuisine

Spring time, pea time. Also of green beans, of course, which are good, especially fresh. And what about the beans? And then, there are the jackdaws. They are good, sweet and full of health. Like the previous ones, it is a legume, not a vegetable, therefore in a nutshell, a real superfood. And in fact the owned jackdaws really do have many. Let's see together what they are, and then how to choose and prepare this gift of spring.

172558 First of all: jackdaws, unlike peas, you eat everything, both the seeds and the pod. This is why they are also known as "pea mangiatutto". There are two varieties, one more rounded and similar to the pea, in fact, and a flatter one, with little developed seeds.

172552 The best friend of the jackdaws is the gut: this legume really helps bowel regularity, primarily thanks to its high fiber content. Another feature of them is to be a remineralizing food, that is able to bring important amounts of mineral salts to the body. Among the many, they are particularly rich in iron – important for anemics. And of all this means that they are very good for fight fatigue. they many vitamins and so they are a legume, therefore, theirs protein intake, when combined with a cereal, it is equal to that of meat.

It's not over: like peas, they contain plant estrogens which help women balance the cycle menstrual, especially when it is painful and problematic but also to prevent osteoporosis. And then they are very low in calories, satiating and with the characteristic of contributing to reduce sugar absorption and fat: perfect for getting in shape before the summer, then!

Select beautiful fresh jackdaws, firm but soft, intact and free of yellowish or moldy parts. The jackdaws are easy to clean and prepare: just wash them and get rid of the petiole (and if they are a little harder, the fibrous thread that flows to the sides of the pod) and then cook them, boiled or directly in the pan. If we traditionally use rather soft (careful not to prolong cooking too much, to avoid that they fall apart), a suggestion is to try them in the more crunchy version, stirring them "to the east" to a point of cooking a little earlier than when you would normally light the fire.

172555 Theirs sweet and delicate flavor makes them really versatile in the kitchen. They can be steamed and simply eaten with oil, salt and lemon or vinegar. Sautéed and seasoned, with spices and other flavorings at will, such as roasted sesame seeds rather than almond grit. They are very good stew with tomato and enrich the salads of the good season: combine them for example with a hard-boiled egg but also with a fresh or preserved fish, for example a mackerel for a more decisive taste or delicious shrimps.

Aurora Quinto
March 2019

DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES OF SALT & PEPE

Recipe Donut of peas, crispy wafer and robiola cream – Italian Cuisine

Ingredients

750 g peas
700 g potatoes
150 g robiola
100 g fresh cream
3 egg whites
Parmigiano Reggiano Dop
flour 00
butter
flax seed
salt

Duration: 1 h 40 min

Level: Middle

Dose: 12 people

For the recipe of the pea donut, crispy wafer and robiola cream, boil the potatoes with the peel until they become tender. Cook the peas in plenty of boiling water: for 3 minutes from boiling, the fresh ones, for 7-8 minutes, the frozen ones.
Drain and whisk immediately, still hot, obtaining a velvety. Mash the potatoes, still hot and without the skin, with a potato masher. Lightly whisk 2 egg whites. Mix the pea soup with the potatoes, then add 5 g of grated Parmesan, 45 g of flour and 7 g of salt. Finally add the whipped egg whites and mix the mixture
gently from bottom to top.
Brush a donut-shaped mold (diameter 19 cm) with melted butter and fill it with the mixture. Bake at 180 ° C for about 30 minutes. Prepare the waffles: mix 50 g of soft butter with 30 g of flour, 30 g of grated Parmesan and the remaining egg white. Line a baking sheet of baking paper and lay down, with the help of a kitchen brush, strips of mixture; sprinkle them evenly with a handful of flax seeds. Bake at 180 ° C for 7-8 minutes.
Take them out of the oven and let them cool. Bring the cream to the boil and, off the heat, add the robiola. Serve the warm donut with the wafers and the robiola cream, which is also warm.

How to use peas? Here are their virtues – Italian Cuisine

May, June, July, August and almost almost even September, plus April for the former if spring is early: these are the months in which to harvest the fresh peas and find them in the fruit and vegetable stalls. In particular, late spring is their natural harvesting period in Italy: peas in fact – for those who have a piece of land in which to try their hand – are planted in early spring and after less than two months the garden offers its fruits, ready to feed us. In the other months of the year, they remain excellent to taste even frozen foods: this is why peas become a useful food 12 months a year.

Substantial, inviting, simple and versatile, the fresh peas protagonists of this season are brought to the table between appetizers, side dishes, first courses. But you really know all of them secrets and their properties? The first, not trivial, is that peas I'm not a vegetable. It is instead a legume, and this feature makes them a great source of energy: legumes are now considered a real superfood. And in fact the peas, when combined with cereals like rice – the famous "risi e bisi"! – return one to the organism protein mixture of comparable value to that of animal proteins.

They are in fact composed of carbohydrates (14 grams per 100), fiber, protein, and even vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium. They strengthen the body due to the high presence of vitamin C and fortunately they do not contain cholesterol.

Their origin it comes from far away: from Mesopotamia, and then spread in the diet of Greeks and Romans reaching us. The pea fruit is composed of the pod, which hides and protects up to 12 seeds, which is the edible part we know. There are many species and varieties, used according to the type of consumption for which the product is intended (drying, canning, fresh etc).

The taste it is quite inviting: slightly sweet, it is ideal for convincing children to vary foods, it has a caloric content to keep under control in case of low-calorie dietary regimes (80 calories per 100 grams) but not excessively high, it provides essential nutrients to fuel our body. Plus, they give a fort sense of satiety, an interesting element for those who are thinking about getting into shape and find it hard to resist at the table.

Caution in cases of low-content diets carbohydrates, not to be confused with vegetables: in this case consumption must be limited. The second risk is that of those suffering from allergies or favismo: in the latter case the consumption of peas, such as broad beans and verbena, is prohibited.

Once purchased fresh, and after having patiently shelled them from their pods, here they are ready for their best quality: the taste! Remember, in the purchase, to choose those from smaller dimensions if you love them tender and sweeter, and once purchased, it is good not to keep them more than a day in fridge.

A taste note: peas, the first, freshly picked, very fine and very tender, I'm really delicious eaten raw. Their sweetness is incomparable! Fantastic if paired with cheeses not too seasoned, such as pecorino primosale or feta and also cold cuts such as prosciutto (both cooked and raw) and salami. Like all foods, they retain their nutritional properties intact. Peas though they also contain anti-digestive factors, which are destroyed during cooking. This does not mean that you cannot eat them raw, but that you have to do it without exaggerating in quantity. Who already has digestion problems should instead to avoid raw consumption – and even cooked eat them preferably in the form of purée. For all others, the consumption of cooked peas is recommended at will: they are real bowel scavengers, which free from waste.

Finally, here are the first tips for use, starting with appetizers: quiche, perhaps with bacon, is a good choice, but also flans, or meatballs with feta. Arriving at first dishes, here they are protagonists of velvety creams, soups, or as a condiment for pasta dishes (look at this recipe with spicy salami!). And again, in the second: curious at the top of the Genoese, but also with fish, in the tortilla. The side dish it is soon done: it will be enough to make them jump in the pan garnishing them at will … while for the experimenters, here is the additional idea: to make them protagonists of a dessert like madeleine with baby peas, taking advantage of the sweet taste of freshly picked peas to commit a small sin of gluttony.

Eva Perasso
May 2017
updated in March 2019
from Aurora Quinto

DISCOVER THE COOKING COURSES SALT & PEPE