Peas and Pecorino
On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen
“The first restaurant I worked at after culinary school was Mumbo Jumbo in Atlanta, Georgia, and that’s where I ate really good blanched peas for the first time. They made a dish of peas with pecorino that made me realize I actually liked peas. So obviously, the Mumbo Jumbo concoction was a huge inspiration for this version.” —Jeremy Fox in his 2018 Beard Award–nominated On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen
Yield
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds peas in their pods
- Kosher salt
- Handful of pea tendrils, to garnish
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 tablespoon chiffonade of mint
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, shaved or cut into small chunks
Method
Shuck the peas; you should get about 2 cups of shucked peas.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Season it with enough salt that it tastes like the sea. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Add the peas to the boiling water and cook, at a simmer, until they are tender but not mushy (this can vary based on the size of the peas), 2 to 4 minutes. Drain the peas and immediately transfer them to the ice bath until completely cool. Drain and spread the peas on paper towels and allow them to dry completely.
In a bowl, combine the peas with the pea tendrils, olive oil, vinegar, shallot, and mint. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, divide the dressed peas across plates. Top with pecorino and finish with more pepper.
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Adapted from On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen by Jeremy Fox (Phaidon, April 2017).
https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/peas-and-pecorino