Minty Spring Pea Salad

Friends, countrymen, Russian spambots, at New Years some lovely friends and I made a resolution to do a potluck once a month.  We've only left off June, and that's because it proved to be just too crazy, schedule-wise, but universe, note that we did talk about it!  I hosted the July potluck on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year, a polar opposite from way back in the never-ending winter that wasn't exactly polar at 90 degrees with 90% humidity.  After a thoroughly scientific poll of potluck resolution members, I settled on a Presidential theme for this potluck - ie. bring a dish that was a favorite of a president or inspired by a president.  

Presidential potluck: Green Beans ala Jimmy Carter, Washington's Cherry Pie,
Michelle Obama's Minty Spring Pea Salad, best American beer for the chef

Naturally, I chose Michelle Obama, the president of my heart.  I also chose Carter (green beans, peanuts) and Washington (cherry pie) but Ima share those later, hokay?  There was a plethora of pie, beer, and food, and we had a capitol time sweating together in my backyard and tiny living room (mwaha) and discussing our sources for US Presidential information (Drunk History is totally valid source).  Pro-tip: strong chance that while researching presidential food choices you will go down many rabbit holes and come to an hour to three later.  There are so many articles, books, posts, recipes, etc.  In short, it was highly tasty and fun. I'm only disappointed that nobody brought squirrel stew.  

Minty Pea Salad

Adapted from Michelle Obama’s Minty Spring Pea Salad

Serves 6-8

Minted Spring Pea 

Ingredients

4 cups fresh or frozen peas, defrosted

1 large shallot, sliced thin (some diced finely)

zest and juice of a lemon plus 1-2 tablespoons more

¼ c olive oil

¾ cup finely chopped mint

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook peas until just done, and put in an ice bath; leave to cool.
2. Puree ½ c peas with lemon juice and zest of one lemon and olive oil until smooth.
3. Toss peas, mint, shallot, onion, and leek in a bowl and pour puree over.
4. Season to taste with extra lemon juice and salt and pepper.  

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for a small leek and a small shallot.  I only had a large shallot, and I thought it turned out okay!  I suspect using a small white onion may yield similar results if you’re in a pinch.
• The original recipe also calls for only 2 ½ cups of peas. I had a crowd to feed, and that seemed a little bit like not enough to feed the predicted 6-8, so I initially upped the peas to 4 cups, and eventually added 1.5 cups more when it still didn’t look like a lot, which is not reflected in the recipe above.  I just upped the additional lemon at the end, and it was fine!