Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Almonds

When I became a vegetarian several years ago, it forced me to try new foods since I didn’t want to eat the same old veggies day in and day out. About a year ago I added a small bit of fish back into my diet so technically I’m a pescetarian. I try to eat seasonal foods grown locally, so when hubby and I saw a farmer’s stand on a country road with a big sign out front that said Sugar Snap Peas, I hollered, “Pull in!”  We bought a few items but I was mostly excited about making a Sugar Snap Pea Salad.

This crunchy salad reminds me a little bit of a tasty, vinaigrette style cole slaw.

Sugar snap peas are a hybrid of snow peas and green peas and are a healthy food choice as they contain more than half the daily requirement of vitamin C and are an excellent source of folic acid.

Food fresh from the farm field has so much more flavor than produce that’s spent days on a truck before ever sitting on a grocer’s shelf. I’m a huge fan of the farm to table movement.

And soon I’ll be supporting the garden to plate movement once we start harvesting vegetables from our garden. The cherry tomatoes in our little plot out in the yard are ripening quickly!

For now, I’ll enjoy the produce from our local farmers.

This Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Almonds is very tasty, and good for you!

Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Almonds

1/2 cup almond halves
1 tablespoons olive oil
salt
1 pound sugar snap peas, ends snapped and strings removed, thinly sliced on bias

Dressing
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 fresh basil leaves, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a small bowl, drizzle almonds with olive oil and a bit of salt and toss to coat. Spread almonds in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, add the sliced peas and cook for just 1 minute. Drain and transfer peas to a big bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and hold their color. Let sit for several minutes, then drain and place in a serving bowl.

For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and basil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the vinaigrette over the peas and toss to coat. Add the almonds, mix and serve.