Asparagus pea

Lotus tetragonolobus

vegetable · legume

Young four-angled winged pods, cooked whole like green beans, tasting of asparagus.

Origin

Mediterranean

Where to find it

It is hardly found outside vegetable gardens: a few seed companies sell it; in the wild, it grows in dry meadows in southern France.

Season (United States)

June to August

Preparation

The pods are picked young, an inch or two long, before they turn stringy; they cook for five minutes.

Molecules

In small amounts, not counted Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

Its blood-red flowers also earn it the name “cultivated bird's-foot trefoil”.