Eat Seasonally in June: Sugar Snap Peas

Each month, we'll highlight one of the delicious fruits or vegetables that are currently in season, along with a few recipes featuring our chosen seasonal ingredient.

For June, sugar snap peas are the star vegetable. A cross between Chinese snow peas and English or garden peas, sugar snap peas have an edible pod and a slightly rounded shape. They're so sweet and crisp that if you grow them at home, you may just eat them all as you pick them.

But if you can resist eating them as you harvest, sugar snap peas are delicious both raw and cooked. Check out these recipes we're going to try this month.

Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas

Ina Garten doesn't do much to these peas, but when you start with an ingredient this delicious, you don't need much. In fact, the key to cooking sugar snap peas is to keep it quick. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper in a high quality sauté pan over medium high heat and serve immediately. It's a fast and easy way to add a vegetable side dish to dinner. Plus even the kids (or self-proclaimed veggie haters) will eat it.

Quinoa Confetti Salad With Sugar Snap Peas and Toasted Pepitas

Sugar snap peas become part of the main dish in this salad from Kitchen Treaty. It's surprisingly hearty even though it's dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan. It also makes for a delicious lunch of leftovers the next day. The peas are raw, but you can break out that sauté pan again to toast the pepitas.

Sugar Snap Pea, Parmesan and Bacon Salad With Dijon Dressing

Maybe this salad from The Pig & Quill isn't meant to be a main dish, but it sounds so delectable we could probably eat it for three meals straight. Be sure to have the ice water ready to shock the sugar snap peas; you'll want to transfer them right away to ensure they stay bright green and crunchy. Try using a Microplane grater for both the lemon zest and parmesan in this recipe.

Gemelli With Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas

Besides sugar snap peas, this main dish recipe has three big reasons to try it: it's a one-pot dish, it only takes 20 minutes to make, and it's from Martha Stewart. You'll need a skillet big enough to accommodate all the ingredients. Your Microplane grater will come in handy here too. Add the peas at the end and cook them just long enough to be tender-crisp.