Today, I am sharing my recipe for an easy-to-make Pea Salad as another way to enjoy those lovely garden-fresh peas.
I grow peas in the garden every summer and the ones in the photos in this post are the Dalvay variety which I buy at Veseys Seeds in York, PEI.
These peas grow in long slender pods and there are, generally, 10-12 perfect peas in each mature pod.
While we certainly enjoy the garden peas simply boiled and served with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper as a side veggie to cooked dinners in summer, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy them in other ways, like this Pea Salad.
Pea Salad is simply a salad made with fresh green peas, hard boiled eggs, crispy bacon, red onion, shredded cheese, and celery all tossed together with a flavorful creamy dressing. This salad is a good option when you don’t have lettuce on hand for a traditional green salad, you do have peas available, or maybe you’re just simply tired of a green leafy salad and desire a change.
This salad is lovely in summer when the fresh locally-grown peas are available. In a pinch, frozen thawed peas could probably be substituted (though they would not be my choice) but the salad would lack the crunchiness of fresh peas and I believe there would be some loss of texture.
I use Havarti cheese in this salad. It’s one of my favorite cheeses and I find it is a mild, creamy textured cheese that contrasts well with the crunchy peas, onion, and celery in the salad. However, any cheese of choice that can be shredded will work.
A couple of hard-boiled eggs add flavor, texture, and nutritional value to the salad. From one of the eggs, I take the yolk, mash it up, and mix it in with the dressing ingredients to give a richer flavor to the dressing. In the photos, I garnished the top of the salad with egg slices so, if you wish to do the same, simply hard boil a third egg for this purpose.
The salad flavor benefits from the salad and dressing being mixed together and refrigerated for 2-3 hours before serving. If there are any leftovers, cover the salad with cling wrap and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
I have created this salad with the smaller household in mind so this salad will yield approximately four side salad portions. That said, the recipe is certainly scalable meaning it can be resized for the number of servings needed, making it an ideal choice for potlucks, barbeques, or other gatherings.
Pea Salad
Ingredients:
Salad Base:
1 cup fresh green peas (uncooked)
2 hard-boiled eggs (1 yolk reserved and mashed for dressing), diced (See Note 1)
2 slices cooked crispy bacon slices, crumbled or chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped
1½ tbsp red onion, diced
¾ oz/22g shredded Havarti cheese (See Note 2)
Dressing :
Reserved egg yolk, mashed
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp pickle relish
½ tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp granulated sugar or honey
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Fresh dill and parsley, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
For Dressing:
In small bowl, mix together the reserved hard-boiled mashed egg yolk with the sour cream, mayonnaise, relish, Dijon mustard, sugar or honey, apple cider vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper.
In small serving bowl, combine salad base ingredients. Toss gently with the dressing. If desired, cook one additional hard-boiled egg and slice for garnishing top of salad at serving time. Refrigerate for at least two hours prior to serving to allow flavor to develop.
Any leftover salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days. Recipe is easily scalable to number of servings required.
Yield: Apx. 4 side servings
NOTE 1: If desired, cook an additional hard-boiled egg for garnish slices on top of salad.
NOTE 2: Any cheese of choice suitable for shredding may be substituted for the Havarti, if desired.
PEA SALAD
This Pea Salad is a tasty choice when fresh peas are in season. Tossed with a flavorful creamy dressing, the peas, combined with bacon, eggs, red onion, cheese, and celery, make a great side salad to many meals.
Ingredients
Salad Base:
- 1 cup fresh green peas (uncooked)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (1 yolk reserved and mashed for dressing), diced (See Note 1)
- 2 slices cooked crispy bacon slices, crumbled or chopped
- ¼ cup celery, chopped
- 1½ tbsp red onion, diced
- ¾ oz/22g shredded Havarti cheese (See Note 2)
Dressing :
- Reserved egg yolk, mashed
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- ½ tbsp pickle relish
- ½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp granulated sugar or honey
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- Fresh dill and parsley, chopped (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For Dressing:
-
In small bowl, mix together the reserved hard-boiled mashed egg yolk with the sour cream, mayonnaise, relish, Dijon mustard, sugar or honey, apple cider vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper.
Assembling Salad:
-
In small serving bowl, combine salad base ingredients. Toss gently with the dressing. If desired, cook one additional hard-boiled egg and slice for garnishing top of salad at serving time. Refrigerate for at least two hours prior to serving to allow flavor to develop.
-
Any leftover salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days. Recipe is easily scalable to number of servings required.
Recipe Notes
Yield: Apx. 4 side servings
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
NOTE 1: If desired, cook an additional hard-boiled egg for garnish slices on top of salad.
NOTE 2: Any cheese of choice suitable for shredding may be substituted for the Havarti, if desired.
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