The disappointment of the asparagus peas
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Vegetables | 45 comments
Photo: Asparagus peas
Initially it was the picture on the pack of the pretty pods that attracted me and when I read about flavour of these peas I was seduced.
They took ages to germinate and flower but finally three pods appeared. I rushed back to the kitchen to steam the delicacy. The pods were of varying sizes, from an inch down to half an inch.
They were vile and tasteless with a nasty scratchy texture. Danny refused to even sample one.
“Why are you trying to force me if they are so unpleasant?”
He had a point, I suppose.
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Im so glad to finding this blog. I just been getting ready to buy some seeds but thanks all of you , I am safe , don’t even want to try!
If at first you don’t succeed then try again. We tried growing this item this year and are now harvesting. The first attempt at stir frying was to say the least disappointing. Cooked whole they were like eating straw.Not to be deterred we had another trial, younger beans/peas no more than 75mm long and finely sliced,pan boiled for 3 minutes in lightly salted water, bingo,delicious delicate flavour. We will try the stir fry method again.
I cannot believe that these posts are about the same plant we’ve grown for the first time this year. These have been heavily producing and the pods are delicious.
Maybe it is that the pods need to be picked when very small and don’t think of them like most other peas. Tnink very young mange tout, and use as stir fry veg (sesame oil is good) or treat like asparagus and blanch then toss in butter. done in tempura batter tastes good but they are a bit small.
I have to agree with Paul here. This vegetable cannot be eaten raw (unless you don’t want to enjoy things). However, boiled (as normal peas) they are okay. They don’t taste of much themselves, and are small, BUT the slugs don’t eat them, they grow with pretty flowers, and in comparison to other vegs are easy to grow, and don’t need any protection from slugs, or anything to climb on.
I got six plants given they look great but taste rubbish no matter what size the pods are, the so called friend who gave me them swears by them. He must have a gob made of asbestos .
oooops. I have them growing in my window, waiting until the ground warms up (Nova Scotia, Canada)The seeds were expensive, too! an new experiement every year, here. Last year it was sweet potatoes – turns out, after $40, I’m allergic to them.
I won’t kill my funny beans just yet. Maybe the ravens will like them.
Just about to cook some as normal peas just finished &waiting for nxt crop which are doin well ! But after lookin up How to , have decided to pick n arrange in flower vase !!! Thanks to yr comments i shant waste my time..
Oh Dear, I fell in love with the idea of these little plants, so much so that i raised plants from seed, without all the problems you have mentioned, and put them in the patch, a little slow to start with but going well now.
I await the pod with drooling anticipation…….The word Vile i reserve for bindweed, slugs, snails and cabbage whites…..surely not my little asparagus peas…..
Am trying different ways of cooking mine to see if I can get a good result, so was very interested to read of the Thai recipe posted by Antoniahk…
but sadly, I think asparagus peas are not quite winged peas, according to the bottom of this site: http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Asparagus_pea
“Winged beans are Asparagus “beans” not the pea. Asparagus pea is Lotus Tetragonolobus.
Unlike Psophocarpus tetragonolobus the Asaparagus pea is a dwarf scrawler maybe barely 2 feet tall if you lucky.Lotus Tetragonolobus should be picked at about 1 inch. It is not known if the leaves or flower are edible as I don’t think it’s been tested to be so. Psophocarpus tetragonolobus winged beans are pretty much 100% edible from top to roots.
DELICIOUS! I love them!! I grew them for the first time this year and would grow them again even just for the beautiful flowers. I found out how to cook them here: http://topveg.com/2009/04/how-to-cook-asparagus-peas/ Very important to pick them when just about an inch long (otherwise they will be tough and probably sharp). I fried them quickly in butter and a little salt. I used them as a nibble because they had a light crispy texture cooked this way, and a definite taste of asparagus. I’ll try cooking more slowly so they might be less crispy next time, and I’ll try out Pablo’s recipe as well, but I certainly loved them fried quickly. Next year I’ll be growing two rows instead of one!
Well I tried to grow some from seed. 2 or 3 came up, only one survived and then after around 6 weeks that died as well!