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Health, Inspiration, Light bites, Recipe, Vegan, Vegetarian

Anna Jones’ peas, salted lemon and sticky dates

by Lindsey Harrad   ·  4 years ago  
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The fresh flavours of peas with salted lemon, sweet, sticky dates and creamy ricotta is a dreamy combination for a next-level toast topping.

There are few vegetables that please me more than peas. Fresh or frozen, I love them just the same. There is a childlike quality to them, which I’m sure is why they are so widely loved. This salad with salted lemons, sticky dates, ricotta and leaves is one of my favourite ways to eat them and takes something simple into a world of more classy flavour, and the pan-crisped dates elevate it to another level again.

DETAILS

  • Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
  • 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 400g freshly podded peas (about 1kg in their pods) or frozen peas
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
  • 250g ricotta or vegan ricotta-style cheese (I like the Tofutti brand)
  • 8 dates
  • olive oil, for frying
  • 4 large handfuls of pea shoots or other delicate salad leaves

 

To serve

  • 4 slices of sourdough
  • 1 clove of garlic, cut in half
METHOD
  1. Put a pan of water on to boil. Cut the lemon in half and put half to one side. Quarter the remaining half, picking out any big pips. Rest the flat side of each quarter on a chopping board and slice the lemon, peel and all, as thinly as you can. Put it into a bowl with a good pinch of salt and mix well to make your own quick preserved lemon.
  2. Blanch the peas in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well and, while warm, dress with the 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt, then grate over the zest of the other half of the lemon and set aside.
  3. Season the ricotta with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
  4. Remove the stones from the dates and tear or chop into pieces. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add a splash of olive oil, then cook the dates for a couple of minutes until they are warm and beginning to caramelise.
  5. Toast the sourdough and rub with one of the cut sides of the garlic clove, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
  6. When you are ready to eat, spread the ricotta over the base of each plate or dot into bowls. Scatter over the peas, then the warm dates and the preserved lemon pieces. Mix the shoots or leaves with the juice from the other half of the lemon and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and lay over the top of the peas and ricotta. Serve with the sourdough.

Recipe adapted from ONE – Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones (£26, 4th Estate). Photography by Issy Croker.