Minted Snap Peas and Young Carrots

Minted Snap Peas and Young Carrots
1/2 pound small carrots
1/2 pound sugar snap peas
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely slivered fresh mint
Scrape the tender skin from the carrots and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Snap off the crowns and pull the strings off the peas.
Fill a 4-quart saucepan with water, add the 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and bring the water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Blanch the peas and carrots separately in the boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove them from the water and plunge them into the ice water. Drain.
Just before serving, heat the butter and oil in an 8-inch nonreactive skillet. Add the carrots and peas and toss to warm them through. Season with salt and pepper. Toss them with the fresh mint, and serve at once.
Serves four.
Cook's note: Snap peas aren't flat pea pods, the kind you see in Chinese dishes, but fat pods with baby peas inside. It's sometimes hard to get really fresh spring peas, but these edible-podded ones are widely available and have the same delicate flavor. Eat them raw or lightly cooked.
Nutrition values per serving: 81 calories, 4 g fat, 11 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 2 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 603 mg sodium.
"Recipes from Home" by David Page and Barbara Shinn (2001 Artisan, $30)