Peas

[teamsaint]

Underrated as a cooking ingredient?
Am doing Jamie's ( I know, I know) minted crushed peas with trout for lunch today.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/minty-mushy-peas-recipe.html

More pea ideas here.

http://www.peas.org/

any favourite pea based dishes ?

[Pulcinella]

Pea risotto here; very good with a salmon steak (smoked or not)!

[Richard Tarleton]

I first came across this (I think) in the Penguin Book of Comic and Curious Verse.

One of those TV food programmes recently did a test to establish which were freshest, fresh or frozen - I think frozen won, as they were "captured" soonest after picking.

[gurnemanz]

Yes, risotto but to lower the tone, I have fond memories of fish and chips with beige-coloured pease pudd'n from the chip shop (Sweaty Betty's) opposite the Student Union in Durham umpteen years ago.

[Nick Armstrong]

Underrated as a cooking ingredient?

Yes!!

Huge pea fan here!

Served fresh in a pile, or crushed, or made into a sauce, coulis, soup or whatever... Delicious, always.

And versatile! In appropriate form, they'll go with anything savoury - veg / risotto obviously, and all kinds of meats (the pea - ham/bacon/pancetta combination is a classic for a reason!), fish, seafood (scallops! once had garlic seared scallops with a pea velouté... yum!)...

Possibly my favourite vegetable.

Bon appétit, Monsieur Saint-d'Équipe!

[MrGongGong]

One of those TV food programmes recently did a test to establish which were freshest, fresh or frozen - I think frozen won, as they were "captured" soonest after picking.

That assumes that you buy them from a shop
rather than pick them yourself

[umslopogaas]

I had a holiday job in the early 1970s as a student on a farm in Norfolk that grew peas for Birds Eye. The variety was dwarf, so didnt need staking, and as far as possible all the pods ripened at the same time. They were harvested by a machine called a viner, which grabs the whole plant, then somehow extracts the peas - how you can make a machine that gets peas out of pods has always mystified me.

Actually I dont know for sure whether the viner extracted the peas, or whether they sent the whole lot to Birds Eye who had their own machine, but whichever, the peas are frozen very quickly after harvest, certainly within 24 hours. By contrast, the ones you buy whole in the shop may have been harvested several days ago. So if you are comparing frozen and store-bought fresh, the frozen probably are fresher.

But of course, pace Mr GG, that wont be true if you harvest them yourself straight out of the garden.

[MrGongGong]

But of course, pace Mr GG, that wont be true if you harvest them yourself straight out of the garden.

I tend to 'harvest' then off the plant into my mouth

Sometimes they don't even make it indoors

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I tend to 'harvest' then off the plant into my mouth

Sometimes they don't even make it indoors

[french frank]

It revolutionised my cuisine when I discovered you could make a stir-fry without having water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, ginger, rice wine &c. I now just throw any vegetables I have into the wok, yesterday including peas and broad beans. Pan-fried salmon fillet and a big helping of peas - heaven!

[Dave2002]

Re frozen vs fresh - I think the taste also depends on the variety. Some of the frozen ones are the small petits poids which do taste rather good. i wouldn't know what they taste like straight off the plant.

Somewhere around the M25 there is a bridge which has been painted "GIVE PEAS A CHANCE"! There might also be a nearby sign along the M40 with a similar message.

PS Possible correction it might not be a railway bridge over the M25 but on the fairly nearby road towards Amersham from Denham. There is definitely a sign somewhere in that area. I can't remember the exact location.

[umslopogaas]

"Give peas a chance!" At least the peas have a better chance than peace. And even in war, one hopes for peas.

[mercia]

looks like a railway bridge

http://sipson.me.uk/2009/04/give-peas-a-chance/

[Dave2002]

looks like a railway bridge

http://sipson.me.uk/2009/04/give-peas-a-chance/

It is - Maylebone to High Wycombe line via Gerards Cross I think and it is the M25 after all.

Thanks for finding the image.

[subcontrabass]

the peas are frozen very quickly after harvest, certainly within 24 hours. .

I think it is usually within 2 to 3 hours.