Ham, Egg and Pea Shoot Salad
April 30th, 2009
Spring is such an inspiring time of year. With the (hopefully) warmer weather and all the new growth it’s as though a new lease of life is breathed into everything, and for anyone interested in food this time of year is surely a real joy. I sometimes get a lull in my food writing and recipe development for the book – I’m not always in the right frame of mind, sometimes creativity escapes me, sometimes I’m just plain tired – but these past few weeks I’ve been full of ideas and very active in the kitchen. But then, how could you not be with all the new produce becoming available – asparagus, herbs, new potatoes, spring onions, spinach, etc, etc – and with the sun shining and the warmer weather prompting us to fling windows and doors wide open and drag out the barbecues and picnic baskets?
One of my new favourites, which are making more and more of an appearance these days, are pea shoots; the delicate yet very flavoursome leaves of the pea plant. They’re a real beauty in salads, such as this very simple one which I put together recently, consisting only of hard boiled eggs and ham with the pea shoots, and dressed with a mix of snipped chives and crème fraîche. Even if the sun doesn’t always want to come out to play, you can always find a little bit of sunshine in a salad such as this.
April 30th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
that sure looks yum….
April 30th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
So simple but so delicious. I tried pea shoots for the first time last year and loved them, but making my boyfriend guess which veg they came from on taste alone was the highlight!
April 30th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Oh great! I’m making this right now but i’m using arugula because that’s what is in the garden? no peas yet. Best from Santa Barbara, s
April 30th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
I’ve never heard of pea shoots. That’s another one to ask my Mum and Dad about. The salad looks great and so simple.
April 30th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
That looks DELICIOUS! I’ve used pea shoots only as a green in asian hot pot cooking. What a great salad alternative!
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:33 am
Love pea shoots but don’t eat them often enough. This recipe looks simple and delicious.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I LOVE salad! Looks divine!
May 4th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Pea shoots are fabulous and so tasty! I have just put up a pea shoot recipe by Mark Hix on my blog.
May 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
That looks so delicious, I love ham and egg together!
I saw a bag of pea shoots the other day and was wondering how best to use and this looks ideal!
May 4th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
We eat with our eyes. Very pretty.
May 5th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Have been following your post for a while and have decided to leave my first comment. Your food looks great, mouthwatering even, and your ideas are very refreshing. I have chosen you to tag on my site to enable others to discover your site. I’m sure they will like it just as much as me.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Thanks for all your lovely comments, as always.
Hi Akim thank you for your lovely words and for leaving your first comment! Thank you for the tag.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Hello fram France again, your salad has just made my mouth water, it is evening and I was wondering what to prepare? Pea leaves? I have never seen or tasted them before? They do look delicious, the peas are really fat over here at present I bought some today to go with the pan-fried trout, but- no leaves!
May 7th, 2009 at 11:10 am
This is so simple, yet delicious! Totally scrumptious!
http://be-a-glitzer.blogspot.com/
May 9th, 2009 at 5:14 am
This is something I’ve never had. Your salad is lovely. Makes me want to try them.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I love pea shoots too Julia and am pleased to see them becoming more widely available. Love them for salads and also with fish.
May 19th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
pea shoot with egg.. yuummyyy… look delecious.. way to go pal
May 26th, 2009 at 4:16 am
for me this is a great food for dinner..