PEAS PLEASE

Three very good ways with frozen peas

Hi and welcome back to COME FOR SUPPER,

I am never without a bag of peas in my freezer. They have saved me many times.

At the end of a gruelling and tiring week when there is no fresh food in the house and I am in danger of ordering Deliveroo for the fourth night in a row, there are peas.

Just back from holiday filled with post-holiday blues and the five packets of crisps I ate at 30,000 feet, craving above all ANYTHING GREEN, there are peas.

Peas…

…smashed with a little garlic, olive oil and salt, then smooshed on toast. Ideally on top of some ricotta if I have it, or failing that showered with lots of parmesan, black pepper and more olive oil.

…blitzed with stock, a splash of white wine, softened onion, then warmed through and eaten with a spoon on the sofa. Soupy and soothing.

…eaten just as they are with melted butter and lots of lemon zest. More salt and more black pepper.

But peas have also saved me when entertaining. When the table lacks colour or I wonder ‘is the food all to beige?’

This week I share three of my favourite recipes for entertaining that celebrate the humble bag of frozen peas. PEA AND COURGETTE FRITTERS; PEAS, BROAD BEANS, CONFIT GARLIC AND PEA SHOOTS ON WHIPPED RICOTTA WITH BASIL OIL; AND A GREEN PEA GAZPACHO.

Here are a few more loose ideas for p(ea)leasing recipes when people COME FOR SUPPER TOO

MINTED PEA MASH - blanch and drain your peas (700g ish), finely grate in a garlic clove, add the juice of half a lemon, at least four good sloshes of your best olive oil and a BIG bunch of mint leaves. Blend it with a hand blender or shove it all in the magimix until you have a vibrant green mash. - very good with salmon or topped with some seared scallops as a fancy-ish starter.

A BETTER GREEN SALAD - blanch and drain 300g of peas, wash 3 gem lettuces, make a vinaigrette (a good slosh of olive oil, a splash of white wine vinegar, and a heaped tsp dijon mustard). Add the lettuce and the peas and use a vegetable peeler to shave in as much parmesan as you desire (more is more)

GARLICY PEAS - Saute 3 finely sliced garlic cloves in a decent amount of olive oil (4 tbsp should do it), the slower and lower the better. Blanch and drain 500g peas, add them to the olive oil and garlic and cook for about 8 mins slowly. Finish with salt and lemon zest.

If you’re new here, scroll down to find the written recipes and scroll ALL the way down for the printable PDF where you’ll also find some MUSIC TO COOK TO. This one contains one is for paid subscribers. If that’s you already, thank you!! Your support goes right back into my work developing recipes, shooting videos, and writing about all of it.

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THE RECIPES

PEA AND COURGETTE FRITTERS

You can enjoy these as a starter if you like but I tend to pile them up on a big plate and serve them among a medley of salady things as part of big sharing mains. A good one for when feeding your veggie friends too.