Spring Peas with Mint

One day before theology class, I was sitting in the common room at the Divinity School when a friend came up to me and said that he had some food-related questions. On any given day, I would much rather talk food than theology. He asked me about this dish, which his wife had seen in Food and Wine magazine, and wanted to know what it would go with. I imagined a nice lamb dish with these peas as a side for a lovely Easter supper. A few more people started gathering around, and we had a very nice conversation about things that were totally not school-related!

Well, he got these peas stuck in my head, and they ended up as a side for our Easter supper, which also included the free Christmas turkey from Vanderbilt that we didn't have for Christmas because we were traveling. Whether they're for an Easter supper or just a nice spring dinner out on the patio, these peas are delightfully easy and flavorful. The red onion adds just enough bite to the vinaigrette, and who doesn't love mint? It's yet another example of how easy something can be when you have good ingredients.

Spring Peas with Mint
source: Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cups fresh baby peas or thawed frozen green peas (The frozen peas worked just great.)
1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 cup loosely packed mint, torn
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation
In a bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar. Add the peas, red onion and mint and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Transfer to a platter and serve.