Recipe of the week...Peas and Fèves

So with summer bursting into life its time to make the most of sweet Garden Peas and Fèves (French for Broad Beans). These are delicious on their own, but are outstanding as an accompaniment for Fish, Lamb and Chicken dishes, or with Potato Gnocchi. This isn't so much as a recipe and it doesn't have any precise measurements, but it is an idea that you can play and tinker with. Any great dish is just a collection of parts cooked correctly, so when you're cooking it is just as important to get your garnish right as it is the star of the plate.

The majority of this can be done in advance, and its just a case of putting the parts together at the end, making it perfect for a dinner party.

Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil. Drop in the Broad Beans (out of their pods) for 30 seconds and then transfer immediately to ice water to stop them cooking. Do the same for the shelled Peas (if you can't get fresh Peas, use good quality frozen ones). Drain them and, using your thumb and fingers, nip the top of the Broad Bean skins off and pop out the vibrant green insides (discard the skins). Keep in a sealed container until ready to use.

Finely chop some Shallot (or make some onion confit by very slowly cooking diced onion in olive oil). Gently fry the Shallot without colouring in a little oil until soft. Leave to cool and reserve if not using immediately.

To serve, gently warm a small knob of butter in a saucepan. Once it begins to foam, add the Peas, Fèves and Shallot (or Onion Confit). Cover with a lid and warm through whilst shaking the pan (this won't take long, and remember the worst thing is crinkley, over cooked Peas; what you want here is to leave a nice bit of bite in the veg). Season with good quality Salt, Pepper and Lemon Juice (you could use finely diced preserved lemon skins instead), making sure you taste as you season. Finish with some Parsley, or maybe some Mint and serve.