2021 Giro d’Italia - Stage 14: Citadella to Monte Zoncolan
Today, the bikers head out of Veneto and into Friuli-Venezia Giulia, up into the NE reaches of Italy. But, before I get into Friuli cuisine, I wanted to make one more dish from Veneto. One less regal than say, yesterday’s chocolate covered pasta cake. As the riders approach the foothills of the mountains of Veneto and Northern Italy, they will zoom through the natural incubator of a certain crop: the humble pea. The peas are celebrated on the weekends in May, in this area, in the Sagra dei Bisi - Festival of Peas!
I love peas. Sweet, savory little pops of fun in your mouth. One of the first foods we probably ever ate, mashed up horribly in a glass jar. Probably, also, the first food item we ever played with. Who didn’t roll their peas across the plate or pick them up and, like ancient meteors streaking across the sky, thrust them into a mountainous pile of mashed potatoes? Well, today, I offer you a little more adult approach to peas: mixed with onions, butter, and pancetta!
Venetian Stewed Peas
adapted from The Italian Regional Cookbook, Valentina Harris
If you’re short on time, place frozen pearl onions in a bowl of water to defrost while you prepare everything else. Cooking time may increase.
1 cup of fresh, small pearl onions
2 oz diced pancetta
½ stick butter
1 lb of fresh peas
~2 tbsp parsley
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Slice the root end from the onions and throw them into the boiling water and cook for a minute or so. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions to a bowl and let cool. Then squeeze the onions until it pops out from the papery shell. Reserve.
In a pan, over medium heat, sauté the pancetta and butter for about 5 minutes, or as long as it takes for the fat to render from the pancetta. Stir in the peas and onions, adding a little vegetable broth or water to the skillet. Gently simmer until the peas are tender, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Serve.
______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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