Spring Pea Tzatziki

Fresh English peas make this Greek dip taste like springtime

It’s Spring, people! It’s one of my favorite times of year for fresh produce, when you go to the farmers’ market and you see that the earth has woken up, the new year is sharing its beautiful green bounty with you. Asparagus are here, all of the greens, the young garlic, the spring onions…it’s amazing! And maybe my favorite: fresh, tender peas…I can’t get enough of them.

This Spring Pea Tzatziki, which we sometimes serve at my Eastern Mediterranean restaurant Zaytinya, is to me a true taste of springtime. It’s super bright tasting, the sweet peas and sugar snaps balancing out the confit garlic-filled yogurt, with fresh herbal mint and dill…perfect with warm pita or chopped vegetables, or a side for grilled chicken or meat.

And yes, unless you have them in your fridge already, you might need to make some confit garlic cloves—slowly cooked in olive oil—to make this recipe, but I promise you it’s worth it. The sweet, rich garlic is so good in dips and salad dressings, or even just mashed over a piece of bread, and the garlicky rich olive oil is a great addition to vinaigrettes and marinades…it’s like a two for one!

Spring Pea Tzatziki

Makes about 2 1/2 cups 

1/2 cup fresh English peas (can substitute frozen peas)