22 Jul 2013

From the garden (and a mean sugarsnap pea and coriander slaw).

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We have eaten outside every evening since I moved back.  We eat late in this house; my mother and her partner run a local artisan pasta business which is exceptionally demanding and my mother is a full time nurse on top of that.  They are busy bees.  But in the evening, when they return from their busy days we all sit down at the table outside, eat together and talk until it is dark and we can no longer manage the mosquitoes.  And somehow the siblings are always able to sense food being laid on the table and they reappear from the ether to join us.

Supper looks a lot like this every evening.  Almost all the ingredients are sourced from the garden and then topped up with treats that the pasta-lords have managed to trade for at the farmer's markets during the week.  Simple, local food at its very best.

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I don't tend to share too many recipes on this blog.  Don't get me wrong, I cook a lot but I am also aware the blogosphere is so full of incredible cooks that I feel there is little requirement for me to contribute.  But this slaw, this sugarsnap pea and coriander slaw, fully deserves its moment.

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This is a vague recipe with vague amounts.  Quantities for a rustic slaw are a no-no, just play with it and it will work.

Gather as many sugarsnap peas as you can (if you haven't got a wonderful mother growing them, I know they can be quite pricey) and slice thinly.  You could grate them but I think it would be even more fiddly.
Then in another bowl mix an even amount of mayonnaise and yoghurt (enough to coat the sugar snap peas).  Chop a clove of garlic until it is basically a paste and mix it into the mayo/yoghurt mix.  Roughly chop a good sized bunch of coriander, stalks and all, and mix it in.  Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon (or a whole lemon if you are lucky enough to have a tonne of peas) and season with salt and pepper as you like.  
This is a mean slaw and it keeps perfectly in the fridge for a couple days (I couldn't comment on whether it lasts longer, we ate all of ours).  Eat with everything; sandwiches, barbecues, fish, who cares, it goes.

6 comments:

  1. it's so amazing that even after your mom works a long day, you all manage to eat dinner together! it's so perfect. i haven't been eating on our balcony this summer, but reading this made me reason how much i miss it and should definitely indulge. and i loooove coriander - i would never think to put it in a snap pea slaw!

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    1. I know - I am so lucky that my family prioritises dinner above all other demands! And yes, you should totally indulge, being British and rarely seeing the sun, eating outdoors is the biggest luxury imaginable to me! x

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  2. what an exceptionally gorgeous looking meal! brilliant!
    xx

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    1. Thank you :) it was hard to break away from the food for long enough to take a picture! x

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