Sautéed Snow Pea Tendrils

luluesque_sautéed snow pea tendrils

(This is a repost from December 1st, because I somehow had this scheduled to post without a photo, ingredients, or cooking instructions!)

One of the nice things about having a mircogarden is getting to harvest the produce whenever you need. Snow peas and sugar snap peas are super easy to grow, tolerate frosty temperatures, have very few pests, require little maintenance, and the best part is the tendrils and flowers are edible! BONUS! 🙂

Tendrils are the young shoots, stems, leaves, and flowers/flower buds of the plant; they’re essentially the tips/top part of the pea plants. You can see the difference in the “older” leaves as those have a slightly tougher appearance; young leaves are a brighter green.

You can eat the tendrils fresh in a salad or on sandwiches, toss them into your homemade soups at the last minute, sauté them, or even make a veggie stock with them.

luluesque_snow pea tendrils-flowers

INGREDIENTS

  • fresh snow pea tendrils, flowers, and baby snow peas~ tendrils and flowers shrink down considerably, so the more you have, the better
  • 3 cloves fresh organic garlic ~ peeled, minced
  • organic cooking oil
  • splash of white wine
  • sea salt ~ to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper ~ to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Head out to your garden plot and harvest as many fresh tendrils and baby snow peas as you’d like. If you don’t garden, head over to the Farmer’s Market, Whole Foods, or your local Asian grocer. Ask for “pea shoots.” Aim for at least 2 lbs.
  2. Heat some cooking oil in a large stainless steel pan or pot. Lightly brown the garlic.
  3. Toss in the tendrils and baby peas; add a splash of white wine. Be careful not to burn yourself if the wine reacts with the oil and sputters!
  4. Very quickly sauté the tendrils and peas as they wilt quickly. I find that a pair of stainless steel tongs are the best tool to use.
  5. Remove the pan from the stove and season with sea salt and black pepper.
  6. Serve hot. Enjoy!