Green peas
Green peas
Product

Green peas

Stars of contrast in the cuisine .

Green peas were meant to be pulses until the day when nobility, say, Maria de Medici, wanted them to be sweet. Eventually the general population wanted the tender peas, and they began growing them in their own gardens. Today peas with ham are a paradigm of contrasted food: sweet and salty, red and green; and represent the subtle finesse required in the kitchen.

 

Though they don’t have official certification, two types of Spanish peas are in competition for being the best: lagrima, on the Basque coast, and floreta, on the Maresme coast, in Barcelona. Both are considered to be a sort of vegetable caviar. Even the external pods are exquisite; tender, bright green with a grassy flavour. There is one variety, cultivated only for its pods that are not shelled prior to consumption: snow peas (tirabeques). With its edible shell, these peas have a flavour reminiscent of chlorophyll and licorice.

Advice
  • Peas are so sensitive that they want just a little bit of everything: to travel minimally but in first class; to be cooked but only very lightly. It’s better to serve them raw rather than to risk them being too overcooked.

 

  • Note that ham requires only a small amount of heat to release the scents locked in its fat. Even the celebrated common tortilla with ham and peas (tortilla paisana), will be quite juicy.

 

Origen

País Vasco and Barcelona

País Vasco and Barcelona