Recipe: Sesame Sugar Snap Peas (using garlic, soy sauce and honey, broiled)

SESAME SUGAR SNAP PEAS

"Sesame Sugar Snap Peas are a great accompaniment to fish dishes. It works especially well, for example, with broiled, baked or grilled salmon. Add a side of wild rice and you have a great springtime meal."

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 lb. sugar snap peas, trimmed*
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame seed oil (can use toasted sesame seed oil)
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or to taste**
1 tsp. honey***
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Place oven rack in highest position and preheat broiler.

In mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil and garlic. Add snap peas and toss to coat well. On baking dish, place snap peas in single layer.

Broil until tender, about 5-6 minutes.

While peas are cooking, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper flakes and honey.

After removing snap peas from oven, gently toss with soy sauce mixture. Garnish with sesame seeds.

Serve hot or chilled as side dish. Hot is most common.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 90 calories, 4 g total fat (0.5 g saturated fat), 11 g carbohydrate, 3 g protein, 3 g dietary fiber, 140 mg sodium.

*This dish is easy to make, especially if you find sugar snaps in stores that have already trimmed them. If not, you can easily trim them. Start at bottom tip, and pull the string up the front, then snap off the stem and pull the string down the back. This will ensure that the sugar snaps are not stringy.

**Experiment with the amount of red pepper flakes to complement the soy sauce and create just the level of zest you like.

***The honey is an integral part of the dressing both for taste and consistency. If you find your honey is too thick to easily combine with the other ingredients, warm it gently by setting the jar in a pan of hot water for about a minute.

Source: the American Institute for Cancer Research