Snap Peas with Lemon and Mint

Snap Peas with Lemon and Mint make for a quick and delicious side dish or snack. 

Here is the quickest, easiest side or snack you will make: Snap Peas with Lemon and Mint. My children have always loved snap peas, maybe because they used to love finding the tiny peas inside the shells, or maybe just because they’re crispy and sweet. They’re addicting.

Traditionally, we have blanched snap peas for a quick minute in boiling water, then run them under cold water to keep them super green and crisp. But we have shaken that method up a bit here, charring the snap peas and dressing them with sweet fresh mint and tart lemon zest. The result was this: I made the snap peas and left them in the refrigerator in a bowl. I left the house for a couple of hours, came home, and they were gone. Big hit.

Serve these warm as a side or put out a bowl of Snap Peas with Lemon and Mint as you would edamame. They’re totally snackable – a great alternative to chips or nuts – and sweet enough to tempt even the veggie skeptics.

Snap Peas with Lemon and Mint

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed, pat dry with a paper towel
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon minced fresh mint leaves
¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the snap peas, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat the peas in the oil and seasoning. Let cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes or until the peas begin to blister. Turn and cook for another minute, until the peas are crisp-tender. Transfer the peas to a bowl and sprinkle with the mint and lemon zest.