#5: Sugar Snaps with Herbs and Yogurt

An easy peasy summer favorite

Jun 09, 2021

Welcome to The Kitchen Club! Today we are making a quick dish that reminds me of wonderful memories every time I make it. Subscriptions to The Kitchen Club help these recipes get developed, tested, and sent out to you. Thank you!

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Some of my favorite childhood memories are eating things around my grandparent’s house. Not their meals, although they are excellent cooks, but the things they grew. Southern California provided the perfect climate to grow an abundance of produce through spring and summer. Their two-car driveway was lined, and overflowing, with blackberry bushes that produced tons of fruit every year. There are memories and a specific summer feeling that will forever be ingrained in my head. Hot dry Southern California heat, dirty bare feet running on concrete, sticking an arm into the bush and thorns gently scratching from wrist to elbow, racing inside to the kitchen sink while leaving the front door wide open, and plunging berries into a bowl of white sugar. Those juicy sweet summer giggles that were had in the middle of their kitchen were one highlight of my childhood.

In their back yard, next to their pond, were citrus trees but I don’t remember getting much from them besides a lemon here and there. The greenhouse was a shady escape and the most obvious hiding spot in every game. Strawberry plants went in pots on the patio and a rectangular plot sat right in the middle of the yard. We grew corn and used the stalks to make teepees. Carrots were yanked right out of the dirt and rinsed off with the hose for a snack. Every year there were tomatoes of all sizes and colors. Still, today, plucked right off the vine with juices running down your chin is my preferred way to consume a tomato.

When I was twenty one I moved into Marco’s college house in Santa Cruz. I picked up a few nanny gigs to fill my short year there. Twice a week I picked up a shy 8-year-old and we spent the afternoon reading and doing puzzles together. Her school was two blocks off the coast and we would walk to my car with the ocean breeze blowing in our hair. Before leaving we made a stop at the school’s raised beds to pick a sugar snap pea for the road. And just like my grandparents taught me, I taught her how to peel the strings and flick them into the grass.

Sugar snap peas are secretly really good. I don’t discriminate against any type of pea but of all the pea varieties they are by far the best ones. They have outstanding crunch and as their name suggests they are sweet! In the last few weeks I have purchased a bunch of sugar snap peas and every time I went to prepare them, I kept coming back to two things: 1. they are so tasty on their own that you don’t need to do much to them 2. sometimes I just want a quick and easy recipe.

So this week we are making simple and delicious Sugar Snaps with Herbs and Yogurt.

There is one downside to sugar snap peas…the strings. Fibrous strings run from end to end and although they are edible, they are not fun to eat. To remove them you just take your hands, or a paring knife, gently break and pull one end toward you and it will peel off like a zipper. If it doesn’t come off in one strip, repeat on the other end to remove the whole string. It’s tedious and yes, it does suck but it is better than chewing on dense fibers that don’t break down.

Once you remove all your strings, lightly charr them up in a pan, toss them with herbs and serve them over yogurt. That’s it. That’s all we are doing this week because that’s all they need. Before serving I like to finish them off with a generous sprinkle of nigella seeds.

What are nigella seeds?! Although not common in the states, nigella seeds are used often in Indian, North African, and middle eastern cooking. They are tiny black seeds, similar size to sesame seeds, that come from the flowering nigella sativa plant. They have an herbaceous aroma with strong cumin notes. Some say oregano but I get more cumin. When crunched into they have an onion-y flavor. I have a bottle that I use for adding a little extra something-something to dishes. They are delicious sprinkled over yogurt, hummus, roasted root veggies, and I plan to make challah with them soon. You don’t need them in this dish but I really love them in this dish. I have found them at Indian grocery stores, some health food stores, and online.

To keep this recipe as simple as possible I don’t even bother chopping the dill and mint. Slide your fingers down the stem to remove the fronds/leaves. Tear them once or twice and toss them to the side until you are ready to use them. Scallions need to be sliced, we are using white and green parts, but it doesn’t matter how you slice them. I slice scallions on an angle and get asked all the time how to do it.

If you hold your knife perpendicular to the scallion you will get round slices.

If you tilt the scallions and slice at a slight angle, you get long oval slices. Easy right? Slice them however you please.

Peel those peas and let’s jump right into this recipe!

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Sugar Snaps with Herbs and Yogurt

16oz Sugar Snap Peas

¼ cup Fresh dill, torn

¼ cup Fresh mint leaves, torn

¼ cup Sliced scallions, white and green parts

1 Lemon, zested and juiced

1 cup Full-fat Greek yogurt

¼ cup Olive oil

Nigella seeds

Wash, dry, and remove strings from sugar snap peas. Coat sugar snap peas with 1T of olive oil.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When you see the first wisp of smoke add your sugar snap peas. Arrange peas in an even layer, work in batches to avoid overcrowding, and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes.
After two minutes shake the pan to flip the peas. If you want, use tongs to make sure every pea has flipped but it is okay if some don’t. Cook for another 2 minutes undisturbed. After two minutes immediately transfer to a large bowl and let them cool slightly.
Toss sugar snap peas with 2T of olive oil, zest and juice from one lemon, dill, mint, scallions, salt, and pepper.
Spread Greek yogurt onto your serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1T of olive oil. Spoon sugar snap peas and herbs over the yogurt including any extra juice in the bowl. Sprinkle with a generous amount of nigella seeds and finish with some flakey salt and black pepper.