Mix it up! Best foods to combine with peas
Peas with other greens
Instead of the traditional lettuce cooked with peas, you can cook watercress or arugula with your peas. Chop the watercress and cook with the peas. Add arugula only after the peas are fully cooked; add the arugula to the pot and cook for a mere 5 seconds or just until wilted. Drain immediately and stir in some olive oil or butter.
Stir-frying with peas
Pre-cooked peas are ideal for stir-fries. In China, they are traditionally cooked with small shrimp, the sweetness of the shrimp playing along wonderfully with the sweetness of the peas. In Shanghai, peas and tiny freshwater shrimp is a famous local specialty; the luxurious dish is cooked in a little chicken stock and finished off and enriched with some tasty rendered chicken fat.
*For recipes that call for frozen peas, replace with an equal amount of fresh peas. If the recipe calls for thawed frozen peas, replace them with cooked fresh peas.
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Andrew Chase is Homemakers Magazine's food editor, the author of The Asian Bistro Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1997), The Blender Bible (Robert Rose, 2005) and co-author of 400 Blender Cocktails: Sensational Alcoholic And Non-alcoholic Cocktail Recipes (Robert Rose, 2006). Subscribe to Homemakers Magazine and don't miss any of Andrew's recipes and menus.
Instead of the traditional lettuce cooked with peas, you can cook watercress or arugula with your peas. Chop the watercress and cook with the peas. Add arugula only after the peas are fully cooked; add the arugula to the pot and cook for a mere 5 seconds or just until wilted. Drain immediately and stir in some olive oil or butter.
Stir-frying with peas
Pre-cooked peas are ideal for stir-fries. In China, they are traditionally cooked with small shrimp, the sweetness of the shrimp playing along wonderfully with the sweetness of the peas. In Shanghai, peas and tiny freshwater shrimp is a famous local specialty; the luxurious dish is cooked in a little chicken stock and finished off and enriched with some tasty rendered chicken fat.
*For recipes that call for frozen peas, replace with an equal amount of fresh peas. If the recipe calls for thawed frozen peas, replace them with cooked fresh peas.
Italian peas
"Risi e Pisi" is fun to say and even better to eat. Literally, "Rice and Peas", it's an early summer tradition in Italy. Here in Canada, we know it as Pea Risotto and we enjoy it a good month or two later than the lucky Italians whose pea bounty comes in earlier in the year, but it's just as good. Serve it as a starter for a party or as a wonderful main course on busy weeknights.
Indian peas
Dried legumes, including peas, are popular in Indian cuisine and legumes make up a major part of the Indian diet. But you'll find fresh peas in plenty of Indian recipes, too, accompanying potatoes and sometimes standing on their own. Try our simple Indian-Style Sautéed Peas, a great addition to any Indian-style dinner or an accompaniment to roasts, chops and other dishes.
Peas and potato salad
Peas are a traditional addition to early summer potato salad. If you have any lovage growing in your garden, add a little chopped lovage to a potato salad with peas and green onions.
I just returned from a trip to Denmark, where the sweet local peas are so loved that they command extraordinary prices. I paid the equivalent of about $37 for 1-1/2 kg of peas! Even taking the weak Canadian dollar into consideration, those are expensive peas! So, enjoy your reasonably-priced local Canadian peas while you can and spread the wealth.
"Risi e Pisi" is fun to say and even better to eat. Literally, "Rice and Peas", it's an early summer tradition in Italy. Here in Canada, we know it as Pea Risotto and we enjoy it a good month or two later than the lucky Italians whose pea bounty comes in earlier in the year, but it's just as good. Serve it as a starter for a party or as a wonderful main course on busy weeknights.
Indian peas
Dried legumes, including peas, are popular in Indian cuisine and legumes make up a major part of the Indian diet. But you'll find fresh peas in plenty of Indian recipes, too, accompanying potatoes and sometimes standing on their own. Try our simple Indian-Style Sautéed Peas, a great addition to any Indian-style dinner or an accompaniment to roasts, chops and other dishes.
Peas and potato salad
Peas are a traditional addition to early summer potato salad. If you have any lovage growing in your garden, add a little chopped lovage to a potato salad with peas and green onions.
I just returned from a trip to Denmark, where the sweet local peas are so loved that they command extraordinary prices. I paid the equivalent of about $37 for 1-1/2 kg of peas! Even taking the weak Canadian dollar into consideration, those are expensive peas! So, enjoy your reasonably-priced local Canadian peas while you can and spread the wealth.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
-8 mushrooms to get to know better
-All about onions
-Top 10 recession-friendly -- and healthy -- foods
Page 2 of 2
Andrew Chase is Homemakers Magazine's food editor, the author of The Asian Bistro Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1997), The Blender Bible (Robert Rose, 2005) and co-author of 400 Blender Cocktails: Sensational Alcoholic And Non-alcoholic Cocktail Recipes (Robert Rose, 2006). Subscribe to Homemakers Magazine and don't miss any of Andrew's recipes and menus.
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