Wild Side Recipe: Charred Sugar Snap Peas

CC image from Flickr

I’ve gone my whole life thinking I hate peas in any form. That is until I spent some time turkey hunting with Steve McGrath, the marketing director for Camp Chef, who taught me that peas in their sugar snap form are pretty delicious when cooked right. In fact, I was so busy shoving them into my mouth I didn’t take the time to shoot a photo for you. Sorry about that. You’ll have to use your imagination to picture the green pea pods charred black in places and covered in melting Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

So if you want to give your tastebuds a treat, they are, dare I say, a snap to make. McGrath blistered them in a Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven, though they could be cooked in a hot pan under a broiler or over hot coals using a grill pan. The trick is a screaming hot cooking surface and short cooking time.

Grilled Snap Peas

Ingredients
– 1 lb. snap peas
– 1 tsp. peanut or canola oil
– Cajun seasoning
– Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shredded

Directions:
1. Fresh snap peas are ideal, but frozen work great too. Just be sure to thaw before cooking. Place peas in a sealable plastic bag or small bowl and drizzle with oil. Stir to coat.

2. Dump peas into a cast-iron pan, or if grilling, onto a grill pan. Sprinkle liberally with Cajun seasoning.

3. Place cast-iron pan into a pre-heated pizza oven and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once. Remove pan when peas turn bright green and just start to char.

4. Immediately sprinkle with a good-sized pinch of shredded cheese. You want just enough to lightly cover the peas. Serve hot.