Previous
Nothing is So Sweet as Spring Peas
June 4, 2008
Nothing is So Sweet as Spring Peas
Farmers' Markets DENISE MILLER For the Journal
Editor's note: Every other week, Denise Miller of the New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association will spotlight local growers and their crops, along with tips about how to cook the produce.
Any day now, Salvador Corona's favorite crop, sweet peas, will start appearing on his market tables from Santa Fe to Española.
Few vegetables speak of early summer like sweet peas. Bright green, slender and ready to pop with tenderness, this is a vegetable meant be eaten as soon as possible after picking, before the sugars turn to starch and the peas become tough.
In addition to their sweetness, peas are also well-loved because they are one of the first new veggies to arrive at market after a steady spring supply of mostly greens and radishes.
Corona says he loves peas for some additional reasons: They bring a good price (about $3 a pound), they grow early in the season before there are too many weeds and they generate a steady supply of customers eager to buy any peas he can grow before it gets too hot.
Corona will sell about 5,000 pounds of peas in just a few short weeks, 80 percent of which he sells straight off his farm. The rest come to market with him.
Family that shells together
Sweet peas are also known as English peas or shelling peas, and yes, they do need to be shelled from the pod. While it is somewhat time consuming, it is not difficult and makes a great parent-child kitchen project.
One tip for selecting peas is to run your finger to the top of the pod to make sure the peas are not too large but fill up the whole pod. If the pod is not completely filled, the peas won't be as sweet as a full pod.
To prepare fresh sweet peas after shelling, simply boil until just tender (5-10 minutes) and serve lightly buttered and salted.
Corona's wide selection of produce and reasonable prices are the product of 25 acres devoted to specialty crops, a sizeable operation for a family-run farm in New Mexico. While he doesn't own either of the two parcels he farms, he said he knew the land was good by the kinds of weeds that were growing there before he cleared it.
"If it's bad land, there will be no weeds. But if there's a lot of binder weed, you know there's nitrogen in the soil that will be good for growing," said Corona.
Starting with disaster
Originally from Mexico, Corona ended up in New Mexico by chance in 1993. One thing led to another, and soon he was working at the Nambé Mills factory. Later, he met a friend, Joseph, who owns part of the land he farms directly across the street from the Española Wal-Mart.
"The first year was a disaster," Corona said. "I worked at the factory fulltime and farmed only in the afternoons and evenings." The second year he quit the factory and started farming full-time.
In 2000, he brought his wife and kids from Mexico, and now his wife and four sons, ages 20, 18, 15 and 7, all help on the farm. During peak pea harvesting time, he will hire as many as 16 additional laborers.
If you find Corona at market while he has peas, be sure to bring some home. Your only regret may be that you didn't buy another pound or two.
FEATURED GROWER: Salvador Corona, Española Valley Farm
WHERE TO FIND HIM: Española, Santa Fe (Tuesdays only), Pojoaque, Los Alamos, Santa Fe Southside (beginning in July) and Eldorado growers markets.
FEATURED CROP: Sweet peas. Green peas are bursting with nutrients. They provide excellent amounts of eight vitamins (good for bone, cardiovascular health and more), seven minerals, dietary fiber and protein.
SEASON: Early June until it gets hot.
