I remember quite vividly my first taste of pea shoots. It was around this time last year. I was at the Sunday market and I was tasting different leaves from the various crates of greens on offer: mesclun, spinach, arugula and … oh — what’s this?

In the crate was a tangle of light green, small, rounded leaves attached to long, curly stems. Pea shoots? I tore off a small leaf and chewed on it. It tasted just like sweet peas, sugary and green, crisp and fresh, and leafy, with some crunch. Peas in lettuce form!

In fact, there are a number of good reasons to bring these leafy greens home with you beyond their vivid, sweet taste. Pea shoots are packed with nutrition and antioxidants. They are brimming with vitamins A, B6, C, E and especially K, the vitamin which helps your blood clot and your bones grow strong. The carotenes in these little guys are strong antioxidants that vanquish free radicals and may help protect against cancer.

A delicious salad to protect against brittle bones and cancer? I want to eat pea shoots every day!

I took a bag home, mixed in some spinach, and ate them in salads for my lunch for a week. Pea shoots add delicacy and a fresh flavor to any salad bowl. I went back for more, but sadly their season is fairly short and after a couple weeks they were out of my life.

Now they are back, and if you swing by the market this month, be sure to pick up a pound. I started off eating them in salads again, until Mollie Katzen came along to show me the light.

You probably know Mollie, the Godmother of American vegetarian cooking — she of the original Moosewood Restaurant and Moosewood Cookbook. Mollie wants you to eat your vegetables and love them, and her stuffed eggplant with rice pilaf had previously made me into a believer. (This from a life-long, dedicated eggplant despiser.) As it happens, Mollie Katzen loves pea shoots just as much as I do. But she likes to put a little heat under them.

Of course, wilting greens with copious amounts of garlic is nothing groundbreaking, but it was just the kick I needed to break out of my salads-only pea shoot rut.

In her newest book, “The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without,” Mollie threw me a softball with her “Garlicky Pea Shoot Tangle,” and I couldn’t help but hit a home run.

This recipe is simple, insanely quick and easily adaptable to any mindset or ingredients on hand. I kept it simple with just garlic and kosher salt, and then topped it with a poached egg to add a little protein for a complete meal. Feel free to experiment based on your mood - maybe some ginger and toasted sesame seeds at the end? Fresh or frozen peas? A pinch of cayenne or nutmeg? A squeeze of fresh lemon? Some cashew nuts or crispy tofu or canned crab meat?

This recipe is infinitely adjustable and provides a world of flavors — hot, fresh and nutritious in a matter of minutes.

Thank you, Mollie.

Garlicky Pea Shoot Tangle

Adapted from Mollie Katzen’s The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without

Serves two as a side dish, takes less than 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• ½ lbs pea shoots (no need to chop them, just as is)
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• ¼ tsp Kosher salt, or to taste

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.

After about a minute, when the oil is hot but not smoking, add the pea shoots and garlic. You may need to add the shoots in parts, and wait for them to wilt down a bit to make room for the rest.

Stir-fry until the shoots have all wilted and cooked through and the garlic is evenly distributed throughout (about five minutes). Add the salt once the shoots have wilted, after about two minutes. It helps to use cooking tongs to stir and distribute the garlic among the tangled shoots.

Remove from the stove and serve immediately. Top with a poached egg if you want to make a meal out of it.