PEA MASH- FRESH PEAS WITH SMOKY FLAVOR

Our Fresh peas get all smokey for a terrific pea mash

 

With the arrival of Spring on the East Coast, we have an opportunity to get some fresh vegetables and one of my favorites to locate are peas. Today, I’m going to remove fresh peas from their pods and wood-fire them using wood chunks on the gas grill. Then I’ll produce a tasty pea mash that I plan to serve on toasted bread for a healthy snack or appetizer. The time consuming part of this recipe is the removal of the peas but this task will be worth it.

Time to get to the store and locate about 2-1/2 pounds of fresh peas and fire up the grill for our flavorful take on pea mash.

The Longest Prep

Without question, removing the peas from their pod is the hardest part of making pea mash so be sure you allocate enough time for this task. My technique includes using a small paring knife inserted in the seam of the pod. After breaking the seam, simply use your finger to break the growth connection of the pea to the pod. Place the fresh peas in a colander until all the peas are ready, then rinse, pat dry and place in a vegetable basket or vegetable grill pan designed for grilling temperatures. Be sure the peas are in a single layer so each pea can get infused with smoke flavor. Now, we’re off to the grill!

Tasting Notes: Although I’ve elected to use fresh peas, you can make this recipe using frozen. Simply reserve about 1-1/2 cups of frozen peas for the recipe and start with the peas frozen.

Two-Zone Grill Smoking

Peas are delicate so it’s important that you only use an indirect method of cooking to smoke the peas. First, I’ve preheated my grill to 325°F using just ½ the burners. For wood flavor, I’ve added three wood chunks to a metal smoker box that’s placed on the half of the grill with the burners on. Once the grill is holding temperature and the wood chunks have started to smoke, it’s time to add my grill basket of fresh peas. Since these are so small, there is no need to rotate the basket. In about 20 minutes, these will be ready to be made into mash.

Tasting Notes: When it comes to selecting the wood type to use for the smoke vapor infusion, there are no rules. Feel free to use what you like just be sure it is hardwood and not softwood. I’ve used a combination of cherry, white oak and sugar maple.

Making Mash

Once the fresh peas have been wood fired on the grill, remove them and start on the ingredients for the mash. Add ½ cup water to a saucepan and one garlic clove that has been quartered. Place on medium heat and add ¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves, one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Allow the mixture to cook and marry the flavors, then add the smoked fresh peas. Give this a couple of additional minutes of cooking time, then remove from the heat and drain the mixture using a sieve over a bowl, collecting the liquid for later use. Place the solids into a food processor and pulse until a coarse paste is formed.

Tasting Notes: If you don’t have access to fresh peas and will be using 1-1/2 cups of frozen, leave the peas in their frozen state when they are added to the saucepan and extend the cooking time to 8 minutes.

With our mixture pulsed, it’s time to add additional flavors to balance our pea mash out. Start by adding 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, ½ tablespoon of finely chopped lemon peel or jarred lemon peel, ¼ teaspoon of Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix everything together and add a tablespoon at a time of the reserve cooking liquid until you have a thick but spreadable mash. Season with salt, fresh ground pepper and additional lemon juice. Be sure to taste and adjust these elements as you see fit.

Serve!

When serving on toasted bread, start with a hearty bread or ciabatta. Next, drizzle the bread slice with olive oil and spread on the mash. If desired, sprinkle with additional spicy pepper and lemon peel and top with a drizzle of oil.

Don’t stop at just using this as a spread. This is perfect as a pesto for pasta or rice, topping for fish, chicken and pork, and even a stuffing for mushroom caps, spring roll wrappers, or pork chops. Spring wood fired pea mash – that you can enjoy all year long.

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