Do you eat pea sprouts/shoots/greens?

flowerbug

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i tried some the other day and they were pretty darned good! very much like a spinach to me in flavor, but with less thickness to the leaves.

since i have tons of seeds here that will not get eaten i may start some extras next spring of different kinds to see which make the best leaves/sprouts..
 

heirloomgal

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A health food store here used to sell little 4X4 square containers of all kinds of different sprouted seeds. I tried quite a few different kinds, and used them a lot in sandwiches and salads. The most surprising one was sunflower seed sprouts. At first it was a bit of a shock, a green veggie that tastes so much like a seed, but I grew to like them in moderation. They might be the largest, strongest tasting sprout out there. Alfalfa is a classic for good reason, mustard sprouts were spicy. I fondly recall the days that mung bean sprouts were sold for stir fries. You can have a lot of fun doing sprout experimentations. So much possibilities. :)

But if you were talking specifically peas for sprouts, parsley peas were bred especially for that.
 
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Zeedman

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Although I don't grow peas expressly for that purpose, I love pea sprouts. The ones I eat are either vine tips pinched off from tall varieties, or volunteers from fallen seed which sprout in the Fall. They are so good raw that they seldom make it home. We usually grow one each of soup peas, snow peas, snap peas, and shelling peas. What I've noticed from eating the volunteers is that there is a surprisingly wide variation in flavor. It would be interesting to do a bed of closely-spaced peas of multiple varieties side-by-side, if I remember to do that next Spring. @heirloomgal , that might be a good experiment for you too, with all the peas you grow.
 

flowerbug

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i have about 20 different kinds of peas and only have tried the one so this will be fun, the hard part is remembering to do it. :)

all the plants sprouted this late summer and early fall are around this time of the year and the hard frosts are knocking them down. the chipmunks moved seeds all over the place so i have sprouts in unusual spots that i never put there myself. as i'm going through and cleaning up gardens i get a few fresh sprouts here or there and thought it a waste to not sample the greens while they were still so fresh before they'd soon be frosted down to nothing. glad i did. :)
 

Phaedra

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I did, and that's the main reason I plant them, for their shoots. This year is my first time planting broad beans, and the sprouts are also delicious. Compared with peas, broad beans will have a lot of side shoots, even better for me.

Both shoots can be used in the soup, noodles, or simply stir-fry with crushed garlic and then season with a pinch of salt. They only need a relatively short time to cook, simple but good.
 

digitS'

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So, the tendrils count? Well then, yes every year.

The second planting of snow peas in late July would have been a total disaster if one doesn't count the harvesting the 5-6 inches that could be clipped from the vines.

I wish "kitchen person" DW was more into sprouts :). Ya know, a couple of quart jars beside the sink are a little awkward and if I put them outta the way, "forgetful person" digitS' is likely to dis-remember the frequent rinsings they require.

We had mung bean sprouts from the soopermarket this week in our bowls of noodles. I'd like to have alfalfa or radish sprouts in sandwiches, now and then. DW may be coming around. I caught her trying to put cream cheese on a bagel in the toaster oven the other day. She broils various cheeses on bread frequently but cream cheese is either a sandwich ingredient or a smear on a toasted bagel ;). Still, if she comes to appreciate cream cheese, it's just a small step to sprinkling it with sprouts between two slices of bread.

Steve
 

Dahlia

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A health food store here used to sell little 4X4 square containers of all kinds of different sprouted seeds. I tried quite a few different kinds, and used them a lot in sandwiches and salads. The most surprising one was sunflower seed sprouts. At first it was a bit of a shock, a green veggie that tastes so much like a seed, but I grew to like them in moderation. They might be the largest, strongest tasting sprout out there. Alfalfa is a classic for good reason, mustard sprouts were spicy. I fondly recall the days that mung bean sprouts were sold for stir fries. You can have a lot of fun doing sprout experimentations. So much possibilities. :)

But if you were talking specifically peas for sprouts, parsley peas were bred especially for that.
I too miss those yummy mung bean sprouts that used to be common at grocery stores. You can't find them at the store now!
 

flowerbug

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I too miss those yummy mung bean sprouts that used to be common at grocery stores. You can't find them at the store now!

i don't think i've ever had a fresh mung bean sprout. i've eaten probably hundreds of pounds of canned bean sprouts. i'm sure they're not the same thing in taste or flavor, but some day i will find out. just not any time soon. :)

back in the day when Mom was cooking more creatively she found a recipe for what was called Diet Chili, the basic changes were there were less beans in it, there were mushrooms added and a few cans of bean sprouts. it was pretty good and we ate a lot of that over the years. i don't think she's made it in 20yrs or more now though.
 

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