Farmers Market Salad: Fresh Field Peas & Corn with Basil, Scallions and a Garlic Tarragon Aioli

 

Little bowl, big flavor

Believe it or not, until recently I had never  tasted a fresh field pea. Can you imagine? It's enough to make my Southern great grandma roll over in her grave.  But thanks to my local farmers market, that sad state of affairs has ended and I am now acquainted - and madly in love - with all things fresh pea. I could never choose between the earthy crowder pea and the nutty black eyed pea, so for this salad I used both.  You could use canned or dried peas, but if you can get your hands on fresh ones, by all means use them.

With food that's this fresh-off-the-farm good, you really don't have to do that much for the flavors to come together and sing.  And you definitely don't need to stick to the recipe - if ever there was a dish that allowed for loose interpretation, this is it.

I started off with those yummy fresh field peas - and at  $3/pound, I got extra. They freeze well, so I intend to enjoy them in the dead of winter.  Plus, the farmer was selling them already shelled. How could I resist?

Crowder peas, top; black-eyed peas, bottom

There was a long line for the fresh peas and beans!

For my salad, I used about a half pound each of the crowder and black eyed peas. To prepare, I washed and rinsed them twice in a bowl of water. Then I brought a pot of water to the boil, reduced the heat, and simmered the peas for about 20 minutes, until tender. When finished, I shocked them in cold water. Meanwhile,  I sauteed some fresh corn (from about 2 ears) in a bit of olive oil, just long enough to warm it up:

For the aioli, I combined roughly 1/2 cup of mayonnaise (you can use either homemade or organic store bought, or use Veganaise to make the whole dish vegan), 2-3 garlic cloves that I  mashed in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of sea salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a handful of fresh chopped tarragon:

I then tossed the beans and corn with some fresh, rough chopped basil and green onions, and combined with the dressing to taste:

To serve, I topped with some quartered fresh cherry tomatoes and salted and peppered the whole thing. I didn't add the tomatoes directly to my salad because I didn't want them to get yucky in the event of leftovers. (There were almost none.)

The sweet corn and earthy/nutty/creamy beans coated with the garlicky dressing, punctuated by the occasional crunch of a green onion and tangy burst of late August tomatoes ... oh, momma.  It's somehow hearty and simultaneously refreshing. Who says healthy food has to be bland or boring?