Fresh spring peas

[maciascl]

I somehow ended up with 3 pounds of fresh spring peas & I have no idea what to do with them all. DS1 & I like peas, but DS2 & DH don't. The extent of pea usage in this house tends to be in mac n cheese for DS1 or in fried rice.

I know they will go bad pretty quickly. Can I take them out of the pod, blanch & freeze them? What other things can I try?

[gardenmommy]

Just popping to say I am SOO jealous! I LOVE fresh peas! I usually lightly boil them, add some butter, salt, and pepper, and eat. Are they pods, or peas? If they are pods, I heat a cast iron skillet super hot, drop in some butter, add the pods, and a couple cloves of garlic (pressed or minced), and cook until they are bright green, usually about 3-5 minutes. Stirring constantly so they don't burn. I add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some sea salt, and serve. They don't last long here!

[somegirl99]

So jealous...my DH and I can eat through 5 pounds of fresh peas in a couple of days. We just shell them and eat them raw.

[russsk]

Oh, lucky! I bought about 20 lbs at the farmer's market last year for freezing. We just ran out

You can definitely freeze - you don't have to blanch, either. Just shell, lay out in a single layer on a sheet pan and freeze, then bag and pop back in the freezer. We love fresh pasta tossed with a little cream, white wine, lemon zest, and peas. I also make a nice, fast salad with asparagus, peas and spinach. (Anything would work, really. I just love how bright and green these are.) Just sautee very quickly, add a little water and cook until tender, about a minute. Toss with herbs and lemon zest.

Tyler Florence also has a really yummy smashed potato recipe with peas, lemon and pearl onions.