Fresh herbs and vegetables are always a great addition to any meal, but when you add garlic to the mix, you really can’t go wrong. This delicious snow peas recipe is a perfect side dish for a light and fresh lunch or dinner.

I have long loved sugar snap peas and about two years ago made a recipe for some sugar snap peas with a bit of spice to them. But for some reason, I haven’t really ever gotten into snow peas.

That changes now.

The key to this garlic butter and basil snow peas recipe is having fresh ingredients. If you happen to have a garden and grow the ingredients yourself, then you are in for a truly fresh treat. But you can also find the ingredients at a farmer’s market or grocery store as well.

So, gather everything up and get ready for a simple and delicious side dish.

What Are Snow Peas?

Snow peas are small, crunchy vegetables. With a mild flavor and crunchy texture, what makes snow peas special? Well, it is their thin skin.

Not because they get offended easily, but because their skin doesn’t contain an inedible membrane like most peas. Snow peas have edible pods. So they can be eaten whole without shelling.

Snow pea pods are commonly available in spring and again in fall. However, this can vary widely depending on your local climate. They are a cooler-season crop but (despite their name) don’t actually grow in the snow.

Though the pods are typically eaten fresh, they are also often cooked in stir-fries. Which is kind of how we’re using them in this recipe.

Prep Your Ingredients

Before you begin cooking, it’s important to properly prepare your ingredients to ensure a successful and delicious dish. For this recipe, you’ll need to slice the garlic, chiffonade the basil, wash the snow peas, and remove any damaged pods.

To prep the ingredients for this snow peas recipe, we’ll start with the peas themselves. Wash the snow peas thoroughly. To wash the snow peas, place them in a colander and rinse them under cold water. Then, remove any damaged or discolored pods and discard them.

For a chiffonade, we want thin strips of basil leaves. Begin prepping the basil by washing it. Pat the leaves dry and then stack about 5 leaves together.

Then roll the stack of leaves up tightly. Using a sharp knife, slice the roll crosswise to make thin strips. Look at the example photos above for a simple demonstration.

For the garlic, I decided to go with thin slices for this basil snow peas recipe. I wanted the garlic to have enough of a presence to feel like a full ingredient rather than just a small flavor addition. First, peel off the skin and then slice off the ends of the garlic. Then, using a sharp knife, delicately slice the garlic into thin pieces that almost look like little garlic rounds.

Cook the Snow Peas

With the ingredients all prepped, it’s time to actually start cooking. Which begins with a pan and some butter.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large frying pan and then add in the sliced garlic.

Stir everything around to coat the garlic in the butter.

Let the garlic saute for a few minutes until fragrant. Keep stirring them around occasionally to get a more even cook.

Now add in the washed snow peas. Stir them around to mix them with the garlic and coat them in the butter as well.

Even though we’re cooking the snow peas, we don’t want them to get too soft. They should still retain a nice bite and crunch when we eat them. So timing on the cook is key.

Saute the garlic and snow peas for

We still need a little pop of flavor for this snow peas recipe.

So add in the cut basil, salt, and pepper for the last few minutes of cooking in the pan. This will give it all just enough time to meld together the flavors without overcooking the fresh herbs.

You should end up with a buttery, garlicky  savory side dish of just barely cooked snow peas and basil.

Plate and Garnish the Snow Peas

Everything’s cooked and ready to eat. But we now have to show it off well. Let’s plate and add some finishing touches. Look below for some ideas for plating and garnishing your garlic butter and basil snow peas.

For serving the snow peas, you could arrange them on a serving platter or individual plates. You can stack them neatly or scatter them in an artful way. Or just pour them straight from the frying pan into a serving bowl with a spoon or tongs.

Try adding some extra garnish to add some fresh flair to the dish. If you have any leftover basil or other herbs, chop them finely and sprinkle them over the snow peas. This will add some color and freshness to the dish.

Or mix it up and add a little citrus. For a tangy and bright flavor, you can grate some lemon or lime zest over the snow peas. This will also add some texture and contrast to the dish. Or just serve the snow peas with some lemon wedges on the side. Squeezing the lemon juice over the snow peas will add some zing and balance to the dish.

With these plating and garnishing tips, your garlic butter and basil snow peas will not only taste delicious but also look stunning on the plate. Enjoy!

What to Serve with This Snow Pea Recipe

Though this snow pea recipe is delicious, it isn’t a main dish. So we’ll need something else to pair with this.

The great thing is that this side complements a wide variety of meals. Feel free to try and match this side dish with whatever meal you plan on having for dinner.

But the following are some good options if you are looking for some meal ideas to go with this snow pea recipe:

• Orange Maple Soy Glazed Salmon
• Family Three-Cheese Lasagna
• Easy Ramen Omelet
• Steak with Gorgonzola Butter

No matter what you choose to serve with these snow peas, they are sure to add a touch of freshness and flavor to any meal. Enjoy!

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try out garlic butter and basil snow peas! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Garlic Butter and Basil Snow Peas

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Sides, AppetizersDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

A simple, tasty recipe to make with fresh snow peas. This quick, easy, delicious side dish will make you feel like you’re eating spring in a dish.

Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic

• 10 medium basil leaves

• 3 cups snow peas

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

• Wash the snow peas and basil leaves, remove any damaged pea pods, and then pat everything dry
• Chiffonade the basil by stacking the leaves on top of each other, rolling them tightly together, and then thinly slicing across the roll to create long, thin strips of basil
• Remove the skin from the garlic cloves, chop off the root end, and then finely slice the garlic
• Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat
• Add the sliced garlic to the pan and cook in the melted butter for about 2 minutes until fragrant, stirring occasionally
• Pour the snow peas into the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender-crisp
• Stir the basil, salt, and pepper into the snow peas and garlic, and stir while cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the basil is wilted
• Remove from the heat and serve

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The post Garlic Butter and Basil Snow Peas Recipe appeared first on Do You Roux?.

For me, a good chicken pot pie is the quintessential comfort food. A perfectly golden-brown crust blankets a medley of vegetables, chicken, and sauce to bind it all together. Mmmm mmmm mmmm. It’s an impeccable balance between the flaky crust and velvety guts.

My family has always referred to the filling of a chicken pot pie as the guts. Enough that it took me a minute to remember that it is typically called pie filling. So when I mention the guts here, I am not trying to be gross or off-putting. It just doesn’t feel right to call it by any other name. No matter what Shakespeare said. Though pie guts by any other name would still taste delightful.

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorites. For years, any time I came to visit my parents I would beg my mom to make it. While still delicious every time mom makes it, I can now have it whenever I want. It’s a dangerous skill to have…

How it Started

Learning to make pot pie began as a hungry young teen when I would sneak into the kitchen because I simply couldn’t wait for the food to bake. That was too long and I needed food. So if I was there when the guts were done but before being covered by dough, I could pilfer some creamy filling. Eventually, this led to me being in the kitchen earlier and earlier in the cooking process.

My mom got smart and had me earn my keep – chopping carrots, peeling potatoes, or shredding chicken. I was in the mix and seeing the whole process from start to finish. And because I love chicken pot pie so much, it ended up being one of the very first recipes that I really learned how to make.

However, I never really focused on making the crust. My dutiful sous chef and wife, Brooke, made crusts for me while I focused on putting the pie guts together. A great opportunity to spend time together in the kitchen. I did try my hand at making crusts eventually as well. And now have a post on how to make the ultimate pie crust.

I tend to make too much food. This holds true when I am making the pie guts for chicken pot pie. But my wife and I soon realized we could use this to our advantage and freeze the extra filling. If you make a double-batch then you can freeze the unbaked mixed together pie guts for up to 6 months. Then when the hankering for pot pie strikes, just take the filling into the fridge for 24-48 hours before you are ready to make the pie.

Customize Your Pot Pie

This recipe is especially good for days when you have leftover chicken, or if you just grab a rotisserie chicken from Costco to use. You can also switch it up to a turkey pot pie by simply swapping turkey for the chicken (great for leftovers of your beautifully cooked Thanksgiving turkey). A lot of the recipe is fairly adaptable to whatever you are in the mood for or have on hand. I’ve used sweet potatoes in place of the potatoes and thrown in asparagus, green beans, or corn depending on how I felt.

It is also fun to decorate your pie. For this pie I rolled out some extra dough and used a snowflake cookie cutter to punch out some decorations and place them on top before baking. Plus, I was able to cover up a couple of spots on the top crust that had ripped a little and didn’t look very pretty. Win, win.

You can also cook the chicken in a variety of ways to use in this recipe. My mom would frequently boil the chicken breast. For making the pie in this post, I seasoned the chicken with salt, pepper, ground sage, dried thyme, and garlic powder. Then I seared the outside on the stovetop for a few minutes and placed it in the oven at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes until it was done cooking. It helped to use an oven-safe pan when searing the chicken so that I could just put it straight from stovetop to oven.

One of my favorite aspects of making chicken pot pie from scratch is how you can make it your own based on what is available or what you enjoy most. Let me know in the comments your favorite ingredient to throw into the chicken pot pie mix.

From Scratch Chicken Pot Pie

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: EntreesDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

20

minutes

A selection of hearty vegetables, chicken, and sauce baked into a buttery, flaky crust. Comfort food to the max.

Ingredients

• Pie Guts

• 3 large potatoes

• 2 large carrots

• 1 celery rib

• 1/2 cup frozen peas

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1 large shallot (or about half a cup chopped red onion)

• 4 tablespoons butter

• 6 tablespoons flour

• 3/4 cup chicken stock

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 2 cups cooked and cubed chicken (2 large boneless, skinless breasts)

• Crust

• Follow this pie crust recipe or use any other crust you prefer

Directions

• Crust
• Make ahead or buy a premade crust to use with this recipe – note that my pie crust recipe needs an hour in the fridge after coming together
• Pie Ingredients
• Peel and cube potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces
• Slice carrots into 1/4″ thick rounds
• Thinly slice celery
• Mince the garlic and shallots
• Bring 4 quarts salted water to a boil
• Put potatoes and carrots into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes until fork tender
• Once potatoes and carrots are ready, turn off the heat and toss in the celery and frozen peas then let sit for 2 minutes
• Drain the vegetables using a colander in the sink
• Roux and Sauce – Can be made while waiting for water to boil for the vegetables
• Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat
• Add the garlic and shallots and let them simmer in the butter for 3 to 5 minutes
• Whisk in the flour to make a roux and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly – note that it will be a relatively thick mixture once the flour is incorporated
• Whisk the broth, cream, salt, and pepper into the roux until it is all incorporated, and turn off the heat
• Assembly and Baking
• Take the pie dough out of the fridge to sit for a few minutes at room temperature
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
• Mix the vegetables, chicken, and the sauce together to make the guts
• Roll out the bottom crust on a floured surface to about 11″ in diameter and place it in a 9″ pie dish
• Fill the pie dish with your filling
• Roll out the top crust on a floured surface to about 10″ in diameter and cover your pie
• Add any decorations, edging, etc. to the pie and cut off any extra overhanging dough
• Bake your pie in the oven for around 40 minutes until golden brown
• Let it cool, cut into slices, and enjoy

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