Although the rain has been non-stop, Spring is here.
The hills of Tuscany are like a velvet patchwork with tiny knots of red poppies everywhere.
The wheat fields swaying in the wind, the grapevines finally forming leaves, filling in the hills with shades of green. Acacia blossoms ( Black Locust) dotting the trees with white and exciting the bees as they fill the air with their buzzing around, creating our fabulous honey.
My husband waited for me to return home to harvest our first tiny crop of peas, and am I glad he did. They were so sweet. I ate some raw and considered making a pea salad, but Tuscan tradition won out. I made Peas Florentine style, using pancetta.
From the garden to the table in the time it took to shell them, what flavor and really O km cooking. We sauteed some of the new red onions we had planted also, used extra virgin olive oil coming from the Frantoio next door to our house and added some pancetta cubes.
The peas needed little cooking, a pinch of salt and a little water. We hated to ruin the flavor by eating anything else with them, so just had a bowl each of the peas.
The left-overs we tossed with some pasta and sprinkled with some parmesan cheese.
Piselli con Pancetta
peas
pancetta
garlic or spring onions
extra virgin olive oil
- Cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil.
- Add sliced garlic or green onions and the sliced pancetta.
- Heat and cook until the pancetta starts to get crispy.
- Add the peas. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add water to cover.
- Salt to taste and let cook until the peas are tender.
Another GREAT recipe is as a filling for foccacia. Mix some fresh ricotta with the cooked peas and use as a sandwich spread in a lovely Schiacchiata all’olio, the Tuscan Focaccia.
The bread is baked lower than a normal foccaccia and the top is brushed with olive oil and sea salt before baking and again with oil when it comes out of the oven.
I hope you all can plant some peas next year- we started in winter and created a little green house which turned out better than the ones we planted when the weather got better.
Live and learn!