Pea Tartare

By / Food / June 29th, 2021 / 1

By Derek Gray, Row Fourteen

One of our favourite ways to enjoy the flavour of fresh English peas, the recipe is developed from the idea of peas on toast. The combination of scratch, virgin canola oil and aged cheddar make this a refreshing bite. Serve with grilled or fried bread of your choice. This simple recipe only calls for a pestle and mortar, a little arm work and some patience when shucking the peas.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of shucked English Peas
  • ¼ cup of grated 2-year aged cheddar (any hard aged cheese works fine here as well)
  • A handful of mint
  • Virgin Canola oil (1st/cold pressed)
  • Salt & White Pepper to taste

Method:

  • Place mint and a pinch of salt in a pestle and mortar and grind till it begins to become a paste.  Add half the peas and continue until they are broken up.
  • Now alternate mortaring in the half of the cheese followed by the half of the peas that remain. Fold in a little oil each time. (As the peas are being mortared the starch starts to be released. The fat in the cheese & oil will help to make the peas creamier).
  • Season with salt & pepper to your desired taste.
  • Take the mixture out of the pestle and place into a bowl. Make sure to add enough olive oil to cover as the peas will start to brown if exposed to the air.
  • Grab a slice of your favourite bread and grill/toast/fry it, rub it with a clove of garlic and cover with smashed peas. Enjoy!
  • An alternative method is to place all ingredients into a food processor and blitz till creamy, but where is the fun in that.

About Chef Derek Gray and Row Fourteen

Based in Cawston, BC, within the narrow Similkameen Valley, Row Fourteen restaurant was built in the 14th row of the apple orchard. Row Fourteen is the realization of the desire by two farmers and a chef to go beyond farm to table. Instead, they imagined bringing the table onto the farm. For many years, the Klippensteins [from Klippers Organics] have been making the trip from the Similkameen Valley to the farmers’ markets of Vancouver, supplying many of the best restaurants in the city with choice organic produce. . One of the chefs they would see on their weekly rounds was Derek Gray. Having been at the helm of some of Vancouver’s most influential restaurants (including Savio Volpe, España and Cibo), Derek spent much of his time pursuing the best, freshest local ingredients.

In 2018, Derek came to visit Kevin & Annamarie at the farm to get a better feel for where the food he was serving came from. Eating a perfectly ripe peach picked straight from the tree proved to be an epiphany moment. The idea of welcoming people to enjoy food cooked on the land in which it was grown was irresistible. Over the next couple of years, the vision grew to encompass and celebrate the bounty of our region; world-class wines made by our neighbours, wild foods foraged in the hills surrounding the farm and animals raised with care by people who share our values of soil health, respect for whole eco-systems and the well being of their animals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Looking at the small things that make life great and the people who create them.

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