a few months ago emily sent me a sassy recipe via her weekly mark bittman email, it called for fresh peas so i filed it away till summer. its no secret we are bacon fans, i'm pretty sure that's why she sent us the recipe in the first place! start to finish is under twenty minutes, another bonus.
3-4 pieces bacon
1 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cups sugar snap peas -shelled or not
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
salt to taste
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
Begin by shelling the peas, or if you’d rather, remove the ends and chop into small pieces. i rarely have it in me to shell two cups worth, but dylan makes short order of the business.
Add the bacon to a saute pan and cook it the way you like it. remove the bacon from the pan and some of the oil (reserve extra oil) leaving enough to coat the bottom of the pan. when the bacon cools enough to touch, chop it up into pieces.
Meanwhile, chop up your onion, lettuce & mint, keeping them all separate. to the bacon grease pan, add the onion and saute on medium heat till translucent. add the peas and continue to saute for another minute stirring often, add a bit more bacon grease if your pan gets too dry. remove the pan from heat and add lettuce, chopped bacon and mint. add salt to taste and stir well before placing in a serving dish. enjoy & eat it up!
Extra ideas! for a more hearty dish, add 1/2 cup cooked grains like rice or quinoa to the pan when you add the peas.
Vegan or vegetarian? substitute olive oil or sesame oil for the bacon grease and if you are willing use fake bacon bits for a savory balance to the sweet peas.