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Peas and Pleasure

15/3/2019

8 Comments

 
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What a retro image!  So old-fashioned, so off-trend, so "vintage" it's nearly cool.  Whatever, it's my favourite dish of vegetables.  I made this with 500 gm of peas and I could have sat down on a muffet and eaten the whole lot with a runcible spoon.

They are peas, petits pois, done my mother's way where there's no such thing as crunchy, under-cooked vegetables. I never eat a plain, boiled, six-minute pea.

As a teenager, as you do, I looked into existentialism, positivism, rationalism, nihilism, humanism, atheism, anarchy and dialectics. At some stage, I was drawn to Charles Fourier (1772 - 1837 Paris), a Utopian Socialist.  He believed the transformation of labour into pleasure would lead to harmony and mutual consideration. I particularly liked his ideas on children, (for whom he recommended a diet of preserved peaches and sweet white wine).

He saw children as naturally industrious and it was simply a matter of channelling their energy.  (Their passion for filth made them perfect rubbish collectors.) The best occupation to utilise their love of activity and rummaging was the shelling and sorting of peas! 

Shelling peas is calm and "mesmerising", perfect for watching Dr Phil. Sadly, whether from a farmers' market or a supermarket, whether organic, macrobiotic, biodynamic, bucolic or hydroponic, they are disappointing.  

Fourier's peas would have been shelled and cooked within minutes of being picked from the vine.  Our peas in the pod can be days before arriving at a  greengrocer's shelf, then days before being sold, only to hang around a bit longer before being prepared in one's kitchen. As soon as pods are picked, the sugar in the peas begins converting to starch resulting eventually in "bullets". (Sorry, but...)

Are frozen peas better than fresh? IMO, yes, especially if you choose "baby" peas. There are no other vegetables that benefit as peas do from snap freezing.

Petit pois à la française (Peas in the French manner)
4 people - unless you want to eat them all yourself
500gm frozen "baby" peas
50 gm diced bacon (very, very optional)
50 gm -70gm sliced onion or spring onions, keeping some of the green 
50 gm diced carrot (optional)
60-80 gm lettuce, either leaves or heart
seasoning

A very flexible recipe, of course. If not using bacon, use the larger amount of onion, for the umami.  If using spring onions, cut into 7 cm pieces, using  the white and some of the green. It's nice to have a couple of small lettuce hearts but sliced outer leaves you don't know what to do with, work very well.
  • Over gentle heat, soften the bacon and onions in a little oil.
  • Add the peas and carrot and just cover with cold water.  If you have stock, (vegetable or chicken, use it.) Season with salt but be aware of the bacon, if using.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes, partly covered.
  • Add the lettuce on top.  Simmer a further 15 minutes, partly covered.  (No, this is not a typo.)
  • Serve in a bowl. (There's no hurry.  They will hold.)
Do not drain the peas.  Serve with the delicious juice intact. They make a good bed for a roasted chicken thigh, or zucchini fritters, or partridge breast or grilled asparagus or just serve as part of your main meal.

The question remains however. How does one eat peas?  I'm researching the answer.

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8 Comments
Amanda link
15/3/2019 11:48:02 am

I won’t hear a word against frozen peas! They are one of the few frozen foods that is a staple in my freezer, and yes - I only buy the baby peas. Combined with mint, they also make a delicious chilled soup and double as the perfectly malleable cold pack. Indispensable.

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Cath Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:37:36 am

Yes, packs of peas were indispensable when I had my knee done. Mind you, I kept them out a bit too long and the packs had to go in the bin eventually!

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gloria hardman
15/3/2019 06:46:48 pm

In the sixties I always cooked peas on their own until a beautiful young university student (Cath Kerry) came along and showed me how her French mother prepared them. After that, there was no going back, so when I read this article today it brought back happy memories and made me smile.

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Cath Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:38:30 am

Lovely to be in contact again, Gloria.

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Stephanie Heaven
18/3/2019 06:36:41 pm

Yes Peas !!!!! Baby frozen peas..... the kids LOVE them frozen, and so do I !
I love you're recipe. And we have eaten it as stand alone meal.
I have heard of , but am yet to try, an Italian recipe with pasta and peas - the peas are cooked and cooked in stock until almost mush, then mixed with pasta. Simple and sounds delicious.

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CAth Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:40:47 am

I like that you eat these peas as a stand alone meal. I do, just because I love it. See next comment about pasta and peas.

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Paul McCann
20/3/2019 12:29:09 am

I've recently started using frozen baby peas again, mostly in the simplest of pasta dishes: just add a cup or so of peas for two people (and maybe a little fresh chopped asparagus or finely sliced yellow squash if you're feeling frisky) to the almost cooked pasta. I add the veggies about 2 minutes before the allotted cooking time for the pasta. (Both orecchiette and penne lisce have worked well: something small!). Wait until the water just comes back to the boil, drain, and add some coarse-ground black pepper, a dash or two of olive oil if desired, a little finely grated lemon rind, and a big squeeze of lemon juice.

If you're not serving this to a vegan friend then a smidge of parmesan cheese might also be interested in joining the party: should your guest *be* a vegan there's a quite decent creamy vegan fetta (from Greece!) that adds some interesting contrasts in flavour and texture when cut it into small pieces.

Less than fifteen minutes start to finish, fresh and delicious, and perfect for eating with nothing more than a spoon, modern Italian style!

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Cath Kerry link
1/4/2019 11:45:04 am

Thanks for contributing Paul. Good suggestions. Can't believe there are actually people who don't like peas and carefully pick them out of the stir-fried rice at their local Chinese. Not so sure about the vegan feta. Love that coconut stuff. It's called yoghurt but it's not yoghurt - but it's input-downable.

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