One of the items in our first CSA delivery was a container of living pea shoots. Pea shoots have long been prominent in Asian cuisine but haven't been a mainstay of North American culinary tradition. One reason why this is changing is the CSA movement - they are easily grown in greenhouses and thus provide a viable option of something green for winter CSA boxes.
Of course, you can't ignore the taste. Their soft leaves, curly-cue tendrils and watery stems hold the promise of spring peas to come. But even better than that, they hold the flavor of them, too. We were amazed at how they tasted of those tiny spring peas that pop in your mouth when eaten raw.
Pea shoots are also full of nutritious goodness - high levels of vitamin C and vitamin A and significant amounts of folic acid.
Of course, never having had them before, we had no idea how to cook with them. We knew we wanted to do more than just add them to a salad (although we did do that all week - it was a large container) I found this recipe on the Fine Cooking website for seared salmon served on peas shoots with a tangy ginger-soy vinaigrette. Since it seemed very 'French Bistro' to me I served the whole thing on a bed of lentils.
The recipe calls for a whole salmon fillet - I went with two pieces of Alaskan, wild-caught salmon instead. We tent to do this more often than not in order to control leftovers and stuff. The only thing you need to watch is the cooking time as the smaller fillets tend to cook more quickly than the large fillet.
This was a brilliant meal!
Seared Salmon with Sauteed Pea Shoots and Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
½ teaspoon minced garlic
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
8 cups baby pea shoots (if not available, use adult pea shoot tops)
¼ cup shelled and blanched English peas
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (2 pound) salmon fillet, skin and bones removed, fillet cut into 8 slices (each about 1-inch thick)
2 tablespoons canola oilfine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For the vinaigrette, stir all of the ingredients together in a bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
For the pea shoots, heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the pea shoots and peas and cook just until the pea shoots are wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and 2 table¬spoons of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
For the salmon, preheat a griddle or plancha on high heat until very hot. Season the salmon slices on both sides with salt and pepper and brush them with canola oil. Sear the salmon on the griddle or plancha until golden brown and crusted, about 1n minutes on each side. A metal skewer can be easily inserted into the salmon when it is done, and when the skewer is left in the salmon for 5 seconds it feels just warm when touched to the lip.
To serve, divide the pea shoots and peas among 4 plates. Place 2 salmon slices on top of the pea shoots on each plate, slightly off-center from each other. Spoon the vinaigrette around the pea shoots and serve immediately.
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