RECIPE: Spring Peas, Asparagus, and Lettuce Sauteed with Shallots, Lemon, and Parmesan

PEAS!  The U-Pick peas are ready to pick!  In 2023, I cooked them with shallots and mint and they were delicious!  This year, I needed a more filling "dinner", rather than a side, so I combined them with asparagus and lettuce.  It was so good, my husband had THIRDS!  The recipe comes together quickly once you start sauteing, so make sure all your prep is done before you start!  Also...don't stir the asparagus while sauteing it, so it will brown.

Spring Peas, Asparagus, and Lettuce Sauteed with Shallots, Lemon, and Parmesan

serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound (about 4 cups shelled) spring shelling peas (or one bag frozen petite peas, defrosted)
• 2 pounds THIN asparagus (asparagus must be thin, thicker stalks won't cook through)
  
• 2 medium heads butter lettuce, washed and spun dry
• 1/4 cup shallots, sliced very thin (I used freshly harvested grey shallots) 
• 1/4 cup ghee, divided
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 T. mint chiffonade (sliced into very thin strips)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup grated parmesan or parmesan and pecorino combined
• OPTIONAL, for serving:
• lovage oil
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

If you're using frozen peas, defrost them and allow any liquid to drain away.  If you're using farm peas, you may need to blanch them first, depending on how old they are.  Small young peas can be eaten raw, but larger/older peas might take 7-10 minutes in simmering water to loose their bite.  

Remove the tough ends from the asparagus (you can save them to make soup!).  Cut the asparagus into 1" pieces and separate them into the bottom third, the middle third, and the tops. (If you can't find thin asparagus, you might want to slice the thicker stalks in half lengthwise to encourage them to cook through while they brown.  I have not tried this, but it's what I would do....)

Slice the lettuce leaves in half lengthwise, then slice them into 1/4" strips.  You should have about 8 cups of strips.

Grate the cheese; zest the lemon, chiffonade the mint; and slice the shallots.

Mise en place for this recipe:

Notice how the asparagus was sliced so I can easily separate the bottoms from the tops.

In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, melt 2 T. of ghee and add the asparagus pieces from the bottom third of the stalks - the toughest pieces.  Spread them out in one layer and do not stir until the bottoms are starting to brown, about 3-4 minutes.  Once they're brown, they should be almost cooked.

Push them to one side of the pan, add another tablespoon of ghee, and the middle third of the asparagus stalks.  Spread them out in one layer and do not stir until the bottoms are starting to brown, about 2-3 minutes.

Push them to the side of the pan with the bottoms, add another tablespoon of ghee, and add the top third of the asparagus stalks to the pan.  Spread them out in one layer and do not stir until the bottoms are starting to brown, about 1-2 minutes.  

Turn the heat down to medium.

Push all the asparagus to the side of the pan and tilt it so the remaining ghee falls to the opposite side.  

Put the sliced shallots into the remaining ghee and cook, undisturbed, until they're starting to brown.  (You can spread out the asparagus to fill the pan if there is room.)

Browned asparagus pushed to one side, shallots browning in ghee on the other.

Add the peas on top of the shallots and stir to combine.  When the peas are hot, stir the peas and shallots into the asparagus and spread the mixture out evenly.  While the asparagus come back to temperature, add salt and pepper to taste.  

Add the lettuce to the pan, stir quickly to combine, and turn off the heat.  Continue to stir until the lettuce is wilted.  

Sprinkle the mint over all.  Sprinkle the lemon zest over all.

Cut one side off the lemon, remove any pits, and squeeze about 1 T. of juice over all.  

This is how I slice the lemon

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese over all, then gently stir to combine.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with additional cheese and lovage oil on the side.   

Here's a photo without the parmesan, so you can see the lemon zest and mint chiffonade.  it also shows more clearly that the asparagus is browned, and so tasty, but the peas are barely cooked and not wrinkled!

Before I added the cheese, you can see the vegetables much better.