Taking Peas to the Extremes

Celebrating them raw & long-cooked

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Peas: The Raw and The Cooked

If you had asked me the perfect way to cook peas a couple of years ago, I would have answered without thinking twice: just barely, until they are bright green and firm-tender. But I am wiser now, thanks to a family trip to Italy during peak pea season. When I was there, I had peas in a multitude of ways, from raw in salads, to simmered so long they melted into a sauce for pasta. Yes, I had lightly cooked peas in dishes too, but I returned from that trip reveling in how incredible they at their extremes. When just-picked they are so tender and sweet they are delicious raw, adding a toothsome crunch and gorgeous color to salads. And when cooked until they collapse, they develop a deeper sweetness, a robust savory dimension, and a comfort food appeal very much in line with the way vegetables are “smothered” in American Southern cooking. The level of transformation is not unlike what you find with an onion, where raw and cooked seem like two different vegetables entirely.

Raw vs. Cooked Nutritional Benefits

We may be conditioned to think that raw or barely cooked vegetables offer the biggest nutritional benefits, but well-cooked vegetables have plusses too. Heat does destroy certain nutrients such as vitamin C and many B vitamins, so raw vegetables have more of those nutrients. But heating foods actually concentrates and activates some antioxidants making them more potent and more easily absorbed. Also, cooking breaks down plant cell walls, and with that releases many nutrients held in them, making them more available to our bodies for digestion. When cooking vegetables in water, much of the water soluble vitamins will wind up in the cooking water, so try to use recipes that include the cooking liquid too, as in soups and stews.

The fiber in vegetables also changes with cooking. Raw vegetables have more insoluble fiber, and take more time to chew, which can be beneficial, while cooked vegetables typically have more soluble fiber, making them easier to digest.

The Bottom Line

In general, raw and cooked vegetables each offer distinct benefits, so it’s best to mix it up for variety and according to what you prefer. With peas specifically, exploring their extremes in raw and long-cooked dishes has opened up new worlds of for me, and I’ll bet it will for you too. Here are two recipes to get you started on that path. Enjoy!