Green peas, potatoes and artichokes: a ticket to heaven

Today I have a humble but most delicious dish that I consider a ticket to heaven.

And I must confess, I never say no to a ticket to heaven, no matter what the price.

In this case, the price is minimal.

This is not the result of my cooking skills and incredible experience; alas, I have to admit that it is 99% due to the sublime quality of the ingredients.

The freshest ingredients were grown and harvested in the seaside town of Oreoi in Northern Evoia, Greece, where I spent Easter 2013 with my cousins Kostas and Maria.

Maria gave me the peas and the artichokes as I was leaving to drive back to Marathon.

We talk about peas and we think sweet and fragrant. Add “crunchy”. They were so fresh that I could eat them all uncooked.

They key to cooking the best ingredients is to preserve their flavor and texture, and only add the minimum of taste enhancement agents.

I added olive oil and butter on a deep pan, and let it melt and mix.

I then sautéed potatoes (grown in Marathon) to enhance the color and coat them with the oil and butter mix.

On top of the potatoes I grated lemon peel, and added salt and pepperoncino.

After the potatoes got a golden brown color, I added the peas, thinly sliced green onions, fresh coriander, some water and two sliced sun dried tomatoes.

I let them come to a boil and then added the artichoke hearts, the stems and the juice of one lemon.

After 15 minutes they were ready.

I let them rest for 20 minutes, and then served with fresh bread and white wine, preferably asyrtico of Santorini.

Bon appetite!