French Peas

Hi, Its Scott, here with this week’s recipe French peas or peas in the French style….

like most people that grow their own…... my peas rarely make it off the allotment never mind making it to kitchen and for good reason, I think. …… because they are so fresh and sweet, and I don’t want to do anything to them that will spoil that.

But this classic French dish of lightly braised peas with bacon, spring onions & lettuce is an exception to that rule as this recipe highlights the fresh sweetness of the peas.

it might seem a little strange to be cooking lettuce but cooking the lettuce brings out a wonderful sweetness and something I recommend doing if you haven’t tried it before.

I love recipes that only really work if you grow your own and this is certainly one of those dishes

 you want to make it immediately after picking the peas before those sugars start turning to starch!

This side dish pairs well with a wide variety of meat and fish like roast chicken, duck, or lamb and great with halibut, cod, or salmon.

Its super simple to make and ready in minutes and will serve 4 to 6ppl

And so to the ingredients and method…..

You will need

500g of podded peas

180g sliced lettuce you want to use a type of lettuce that develops a tight heart a gem or coz lettuce is perfect

4 spring onions sliced

150g streaky bacon cut into lardons

1 spring of mint finely sliced  

40g butter

230ml water.

Method

Start the recipe by adding a splash of olive oil to a saucepan on a medium high heat and add the bacon and cook stirring occasionally until it’s just starting to get crispy.

Then add the peas, spring onion, water and butter and bring the liquid to the boil then cover the pan with a lid and cook for one minute then remove the lid and cook for another minuet allowing the water to reduce and the butter to emulsify with the water then add the lettuce and mint cook for another minute or two then season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. And that’s this week’s recipe done

I hope you give this one a try it really is great one to make with those lovely home-grown peas.