The Québec dried pea par excellence — the one behind the famous soupe aux pois jaunes, that emblematic dish of traditional cooking that brings together yellow peas, salt pork, onions and carrots simmered for hours to a creamy consistency. Botanically, it's the same species as the snap peas and shelling peas already described in our pages (Pisum sativum), simply a variety selected for drying and long storage rather than fresh eating. The light yellow-green colour distinguishes these peas from the fresh-grown greens. It's also one of the eight founder crops of Neolithic agriculture.

Three uses as a sprout or microgreen:

Short sprouts (3-5 days, with a 5 mm to 1 cm radicle): mild fresh flavour, crunchy texture, used like chickpea sprouts but RAW with no concern (no active lectins requiring cooking); excellent in salads or grain bowls, and particularly loved in Indian kichari and certain Asian soups.

Tender pea shoots (10-14 days, 8-15 cm tall): one of the most beautiful microgreens in the world — long green stems topped with young leaves, tendrils, and sometimes tiny white flowers; pure fresh-pea sweetness that transcends any canned pea.

An authentic Asian delicacy: the Cantonese call them dau miu (豆苗) and pay top dollar for them at the restaurant; briefly wok-stirred with garlic and sesame oil, they become a dish on their own.

Bonus: if you cut the pea shoots just above the collar (where the cotyledons detached), the plant regrows for a more modest but real second harvest.

• Soaking: 8-12 hours in warm water before sowing.
• Germination time: 2-3 days.
• Sprout harvest: 3-5 days after soaking begins.
• Pea shoot harvest: 10-14 days after sowing (8-15 cm tall).
• Yield: about 1 cup of dried peas produces a 20 × 20 cm tray of pea shoots.
• Best uses: sprouts in salads, pea shoots in Cantonese-style stir-fry.