This recipe post kindly provided by Dr. Ann's daughter, Lucie :)
Hooray for Farmers Market season! Use this time to BE LOCAL and support your local farmers and community. Fresh shelled peas are abundant during late spring and summer at the markets and they are prefect paired with the stems of local organic greens. Save the stems from your kale or collards dishes (like my Mom's kale salad!) and use them in this delightful vegetable ragout. Young spring onions are also featured in this healthy dish and are also popular at the moment in the Farmer's Markets. Feel free to add any additional vegetables you like to this recipe. It is best to add them in when you are sautéing the onion. Mushrooms, celery, and carrots are all yummy add ins.
2 cups fresh or frozen shelled peas, such as crowders, black-eye, lady, or lima
Stems from 2 lbs. of kale or collards, cut into 1 inch lengths (save the leaves of the greens for another use)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or organic grass fed butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme, rosemary, or oregano
3-4 young spring onions, white and green parts chopped
1 cup water or chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or basil to garnish
Juice of 1 lemon
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Serve with your healthy starch of choice (brown rice, grits, barley, quinoa …), optional
Heat the olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until softened, then add garlic and thyme. Season with salt, and continue cooking until the garlic is slightly golden, about 2 minutes. Add peas, stems, and broth and bring to a boil. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and simmer until peas and stems are tender. If there is excess liquid then remove lid, you just want enough in the bottom of pan to keep things moist and to provide a little bit of “pot liquor” to spoon over your starch. Season with salt and pepper, serve over your starch of choice, and top with parsley or basil, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and some Parmesan.
