Peas

Towards the end of May, pea plants that have spent the spring twisting their way round allotment poles and garden trellis, begin to swell with young peas. Peas come in shell, snap or snow varieties (as well as early, mid season or late season types), which means there is little excuse to buy anything other than fresh from the end of spring until late autumn. They are best served raw in summer salads or steamed for 3-5 minutes and eaten with a dollop of butter and chopped herbs. Use as a side dish, blanched and served with melted butter and roughly crushed sea salt, or as a refreshing pea and ham soup, served with crusty home baked bread.

Top tip: When buying peas in the pod, 1kg of pods will give 350-450g of peas, and choose bright green, firm pods with little air space between the individual peas. Avoid discoloured, wrinkled or overfull pods, which may contain tough peas.

Recipe: Try Peas with Little Gem and Spring Onions. Melt 25g butter in a large frying pan and add 2 Little Gem lettuces (cut into quarters lengthways) and 1 bunch of spring onions (top and tailed and cut into 4cm lengths). Cover and cook gently for 1 minute shaking the pan occasionally.

Add 300g shelled peas (approx 750g unshelled) and coat with the butter. Pour in 125ml veg stock, 1/2tsp sugar and season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Cover and simmer for a further 3-4 minutes until the peas are just tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat and boil for 1 minute to reduce the cooking juices by half.

Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with chopped chives and serve with simply grilled fish or chicken, or, try frying diced smoked bacon in the butter with the spring onions for even more flavour. For a one-pot vegetable dish, add baby carrots at the same time as the spring onions and lettuce.