Peas

Peas are the only vegetable that I prefer frozen to fresh. But then I’ve never had perfectly fresh little peas. The fresh peas that I find in the markets are always too large and don’t have a very sweet taste. Peas seem to take better to freezing than most vegetables and retain their bright color and sweetness.

When you’re using frozen peas—get the tiniest ones, usually called petite— don’t follow the directions on the package; just dump them into the soup as they are—you don’t even have to thaw them. (Incidentally, if you’re serving peas as a vegetable, just heat them in a little butter without the preliminary boiling recommended on the package.)