Peas, Pearls and Fresh Mint

Has Spring fever hit you yet?  The snow is melting, you don’t have to put 4 layers of clothes on, the winter boots are almost (fingers crossed!) in storage and there is daylight past 5 pm.  I feel like doing a dance every time I jump out of bed in the morning and to celebrate, here’s a dish that will bring all the bright colors of the season to your table and it’s a perfect side in the Easter menu series.

This recipe has only 3 ingredients and comes together in 10 minutes.  It’s a great accompaniment to any entrée because it’s full of fresh taste without being overwhelming.  Peas are low fat but high everything else.  A cup of peas has less than 100 calories but lots of protein, fiber and micronutrients.  Just one cup of peas contains 44% of your Vitamin K which helps to anchor calcium inside of your bones.   For more green pea nutrition facts, you can check out this helpful site that will tell you about all of your favorite veggies.

If you can’t find red pearl onions, I would use regular red onions so that you have that nice color contrast.  According to the World’s Healthiest Foods  “The flavonoids in onion tend to be more concentrated in the outer layers of the flesh.  To maximize your health benefits, peel off as little of the fleshy, edible portion as possible when removing the onion’s outermost paper layer.  Even a small amount of “overpeeling” can result in unwanted loss of flavonoids. For example, a red onion can lose about 20% of its quercetin and almost 75% of its anthocyanins if it is “overpeeled.”

There are lots of types of mint that you could add here such as peppermint, spearmint and blackmint.  All of them will work equally well.

We’re almost at the end of our Easter menu series and the last dish is a little decadent but portion control takes care of that.   We’re all entitled to a little richness in our lives, aren’t we?  I am very curious about what you are cooking for Easter and would love if you shared with me in the comments.   And as always, I welcome pics – of your recipes or ones you’ve cooked from here.

Enjoy the lovely warm weather, everyone.  I think it’s going to take a few weeks for us to thaw out.  Cheers!

Produce for this post provided by Nicholyn Farms.

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