Snow Peas with Creamy White Wine and Parmesan Croutons
Snow peas are a beautiful spring vegetable, fresh, crunchy and vibrant. They make me think of warmer days ahead. This dish is a little involved for a side dish but it’s worth it for that rich creamy sauce!
Ingredients
Everything for 4 servings
- ⅔ Cup of thickened cream
- ⅓ Cup of white wine
- 2 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 Slice of bread, crustless
- 30g Parmesan, microplaned or finely grated
- 200-250g Snow Peas
- Small handful of mint, finely chopped
Method
Combine the white wine, cream and garlic in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Cook until reduced by half, roughly 10 minutes. (Never leave cream unattended, it can easily boil over)
Meanwhile, pop your fresh piece of bread into a small blender, food processor and blitz until you have coarse breadcrumbs.
Grab a large frying pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and place over a high heat. Wait a minute for the oil to heat up and then add your bread crumbs, stir frequently with a wooden spoon to separate. Cook until golden brown and then turn off the heat. Whilst still in the pan, season generously with salt and pepper and sprinkle half of the parmesan over the breadcrumbs. Stir thoroughly and set aside on a plate.
Using the same frying pan, add your reduced cream and wine and put over a high heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add your snow peas and stir frequently until your snow peas are a bright, vibrant green. This takes about 2 minutes.
Working quickly, add your mint and stir, transfer the snow peas and cream sauce to a shallow bowl and sprinkle with the parmesan croutons. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top and serve.
Notes from the kitchen
To bulk out this dish, you can add a handful of frozen peas. If so, add the frozen peas to the cream mixture first, cook for 2 mins and then add the snow peas and follow the rest of the recipe.