Tomato-Field Pea Salad With Garlic Mayonnaise

Hands on time: 15 minutes  Total time: 20 minutes  Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Instructions:

FOR SALAD:
Blanch the field peas in a large saucepan of generously salted, rapidly boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain the peas and plunge them immediately into a bowl of salted ice water to stop the cooking and set the color of the peas. When well-chilled, drain thoroughly and refrigerate.
Just before serving, put the sliced tomatoes in a large mixing bowl. Season generously with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Tear the basil leaves into rough pieces about 1/3 inch and sprinkle over. Add the refrigerated field peas and dress with extra-virgin olive oil to coat well. Taste carefully for seasoning and serve immediately with garlic mayonnaise drizzled over.

FOR MAYONNAISE:
Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, salt and dry mustard in a nonreactive bowl and whisk until the salt and mustard are dissolved. Add the egg yolks and beat until smooth. Add the oil, drop by drop at first, and then in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until all the oil has been incorporated and you have a very thick emulsion.
Pour the boiling water over the garlic paste and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk the garlic mixture into the mayonnaise. If mayonnaise is very thick, you may thin to desired consistency by whisking in a small amount of hot water.
You can make this up to 3 days before serving. It will keep longer, but the garlic flavor can become too strong, and eventually acrid.