Mange Tout (Snow Peas)

Growing up in a small town in the Northern Territory I remember very well the times my mum would come home with an exciting new fruit or vegetable. She would describe what she thought they tasted like before giving them to us and then my brother and I would decide if we agreed or not, we were like miniature connoisseurs. Mandarins, kiwi fruit, eggplant, silver beet, rambutans and snow peas were the ones I remembered well. It is snow peas that I dedicate this blog post to this week.

Mange Tout, commonly known as snow peas have a short season here in the Byron shire area as they enjoy the colder climates to grow in. I had always thought they were an Asian vegetables but they actually originate back to early European days. Snow peas are classified as a legume, which is fabulous new information for me as that means they are a source of protein. Roughly 100g of snow peas will give you 3g of protein. As you need 16g of protein per meal you could eat 200g along with other protein sources and you will quickly reach 16g of protein. Snow peas also are a good source of vitamin C so great to eat along with iron rich foods to ensure apsorption. They contain vitamin k aswell as calcium and magnesium which work well together in order for your body to absorb more calcium.

Snow peas are a versatile vegetable, pop them in stir fries, use as dip sticks, cut up finely and mix through a green leaf salad, steam them or use them as an abundant garnish on cooked foods. The recipe below is a delicious one, packed with protein, containing a complete protein and something to enjoy time and time again. You can add hemp seeds and nuts if you wish to add even more protein and eat with a leafy green salad. It's a winter warming salad, fabulous eaten piping hot or taken with you on a gourmet picnic.

Beetroot Cauliflower Buchwheat and Snow Pea Salad

bunch of small beetroot

1/2 cauliflower cut into florets

1 tsp cumin seeds

good quality olive oil

1/4 cup of buckwheat

300g snow peas

300g cooked chickpeas

squeeze of a lime or lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Wash the beetroot well keeping on about 5 or so cms of the stalks and the tail at the end. Cut in quarters and bake in a moderate oven for up to 45 minutes or until soft. Half way through cooking the beetroot add the cauliflower florets and a sprinkling of salt in the baking dish and cook for 20 minutes then sprinkle on the cumin seeds and bake for a further 5 minutes. Meanwhile heat up a saucepan of water and when boiled add the buckwheat and cook for 15 minutes. Strain the buckwheat from the water. Cut the snowpeas thinly. Once beetroot and cauliflower is cooked mix everything together and season with salt and pepper.