Colorful, Crunchy Snap Pea Succotash with Roasted Corn
Crunchy snap peas and radishes and sweet roasted corn star in this vibrant warm-weather salad
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The first time I ever tasted snap peas was well into my twenties. I was working at the. restaurant Kitchen Mouse in Los Angeles. The catering department developed a succotash that was heavily influenced by Mexican ingredients, with roasted corn, zucchini, jalapeños, and tomatillos. It wasn’t a surprise that I was an instant fan of the dish for all those flavors I already knew, but it was the new-to-me snap peas that really brought everything together. They’re slightly sweet, have a good crunch, and are a very vibrant green if you get them when they’re in season, as they are in spring. Years after I left Kitchen Mouse, I finally asked the owner to share the recipe for that snap pea succotash I loved so much.
More recently, I had a day when I found myself loaded with work. I had a pop-up scheduled, plus a private catering client, and I told a friend I would help him prep tamales all night for his own event. It was one of those days where you have a very small window to eat something or else you’re doomed for the rest of the day. The only things I had around were some cilantro, radishes, and lime left over from my prep. I combined those and added dried oregano, avocado, and olive oil. So simple but it was exactly what I needed to keep me filled – but not so full to the point I didn’t want to work anymore.
This snap pea succotash recipe here is something of a hybrid of my work scrap salad and Kitchen Mouse’s recipe, all polished up. Roasted corn gives it a little more density; I typically roast mine in my oven’s broiler, but if you have a grill at the ready, that is also a great option.
More Related Recipes to Try Next:
Sugar Snap Pea Sauté with Shiitake Mushrooms and Corn
Chilled Sugar Snap Pea Soup
Snap Peas and Baby Carrots in Carrot “Butter”
Snap Pea Succotash
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound snap peas
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 3 ears corn
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon salt
- a drizzle of olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Pre-heat your oven broiler or prepare a hot grill. Shuck the corn ears and clean, removing silk.
- Roast till they have a dark char. The amount of time will depend on your oven’s particular broiler, but it should be about six to eight minutes. Check after three minutes and flip the ears over carefully with tongs.
- Once charred, remove the corn and set aside to cool.
- Slice the snap pea pods on a bias to make thin ‘rings’ and put in a large bowl.
- Thinly slice radishes using a mandolin or sharp knife and combine with peas.
- Once the corn has had time to cool so that you can handle it comfortably, place each cob vertically on a cutting board and run a knife along the side to shave the kernels off. Rotate and repeat until you’ve collected all the kernels. Add to the peas and radishes.
- Roughly chop cilantro leaving fairly large sprigs and crumble oregano between your fingers. Add to the other ingredients.
- Add salt, lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil to the salad and toss together to coat and combine.
- Grind fresh black pepper onto salad just before serving.