Farmers Market Find to Adult Baby Food

All pics by Ray Hydrick...yes, even this one. And no, that is not baby food.

Let’s just say my wonderful Sunday wondering the farmers market didn’t exactly turn out the way I thought it would.  My dreams of taking my fresh veggie finds turned into a flash back to feeding my nieces and nephews gloppy substances from small little jars. Let me explain. 

Ray, our friend Jamie and I took a little trip to the farmers market on Findley Blvd.  I like to call it the “scary part of town” farmers market.  Regardless, I found some great stuff.  Young Vidalia onions with stems included – kind of looks like a scallion that is pregnant with a 8lb 1oz baby (Holla Kelly M.!) , squash, vine ripe tomatoes and to my surprise, pretty-little sweet peas.  They were already shelled and looked like green pearls waiting for my attention.  My mind drifts to the episode of Top Chef when one of the contestants was accused of stealing a sweet pea puree that in the end won the competition.  A winning pea puree?  I must try it.

After researching several recipes I decided on combining a few to make this dish.  I guess my expectation was to high.  I thought this would be the dish that would whisk me away to field that smelled of fresh-cut grass and warm breezes, instead it took me back to watching babies eat food that had a texture and color that was not found in nature.  Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good – the pea puree not the baby food.  Ray and I liked the taste…it was the texture.  Let me show you how I made it and at the end I’ll tell you how I would make it better.  Let’s make some adult baby food!

Sweet Pea Puree (aka Adult Baby Food)
24 ozs fresh green peas (you can use frozen)
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 small lemon, juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Start by rinsing the peas and picking out any bad ones. 

See...so pretty, so fresh

Place the peas in a medium sauce pan with the beef broth.  Boil peas for 5-8 minutes or until tender but not mushy (if using frozen peas, back that time down to 3-5 minutes). 

Before I pulverized the poor peas

Strain the liquid but save it, you will need it.  If using a stick blender, add cheese, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar to the sauce pan with the peas.  If using a food processor, place ingredients in food processor.    Add half of the saved liquid, pulse or blend.  Add a little more liquid until smooth. 

Wow, that's a lot of baby food.

Most chefs place seafood on the pea puree but since Ray is allergic to fish (so he says), I used grilled chicken.

Slice grilled chicken on top of your baby food to cover it.

What would I do different?
I would have added a little more liquid to mine and add a little half&half for richness and puree to REALLY smooth. 

So maybe my day might have been disappointing but the way I look at it, I tried a new dish with fresh ingredients and I didn’t get mugged at the “scary side of town” farmers market…score! 😉

Tags: Farmers market, pea puree