Make frozen peas fabulous with this recipe for garlic buttered peas! A quick side dish that goes with everything, the peas are sauté-steamed in garlic butter, rather than boiling separately. Easier, tastier, never mushy and so tasty you’ll become known for them.

I tend to shy away from sharing basic recipes like today’s Buttered Peas. Too easily distracted by more exciting-sounding dishes. Pierogis! Crispy chicken burgers! Chocolate cream pie!

Yet, the irony in all this, of course, is that I make these peas a gazillion times more often than I do Basque Cheesecake. A staple side dish, quick to make but totally restaurant-worthy. Though, posh restaurants might pod their own rather than buying frozen. I guess they don’t buy into the whole snap-frozen thing like I do?

Ingredients

I am a bit of a frozen vegetable snob. You’ll never find store-bought frozen broccoli or onion in my freezer. But you will always find peas. Because they are good!

• Frozen peas – Cook from FROZEN, not thawed! Well, it’s fine if they are thawed but there is no need to.

  Baby vs regular – The recipe works for either. Baby peas (called petite peas in some countries) are slightly sweeter with a slightly softer skin. I am partial to these but won’t hesitate to use regular peas.

  Fresh – You could also put me to shame by making this recipe with freshly podded peas.

• Butter – For lovely buttery flavour. Substitute with other oil of choice – extra virgin olive oil is my next pick, coconut oil for a tropical / Indian vibe.

• Garlic – It just makes everything that much more delicious. Fresh please! Give the jarred stuff a miss – it’s sour and wet so you can’t sauté it properly and the flavour barely resembles the real deal.

• Salt and pepper – Seasoning. Peas need it!

How I cook frozen peas

To cook from frozen, just add the tiniest splash of water which helps steam-sauté them faster. The water evaporates by the time the peas are cooked.

1. Sauté garlic – Melt the butter then sauté the garlic until very light golden in medium heat, around 30 seconds.

2. Tip the frozen peas in with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of water which creates a steamy environment to cook the peas a little faster. The water evaporates in a few minutes, leaving behind just tasty butter!

3. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, or until the peas are heated through. Frozen peas are cooked before freezing so they don’t need to be cooked!

4. Serve – Done and ready to serve! Pour into a bowl or put straight onto dinner plates.

   Delicious to eat as is – I challenge you to stop at one spoonful – but suggestions for dressing up are below!

Dress them up

For every day, buttered peas are terrific just as they are. The garlic and butter go a long way to make peas a whole lot more interesting!

But, if you’d like to step it up a notch or just feel like doing something different, here are some suggestions:

• Mint them – Toss through finely chopped fresh mint. Mint and peas is a classic! Add however much you want, to your taste.

• Lemon – Stir through lemon zest for beautiful lemon flavour, or juice for tang.

• Shower of parmesan – As with many things, a mound of freshly grated parmesan will turn this into a show-stopping side!

• Clarified / browned butter instead of ordinary butter – for even more intense buttery flavour.

• Spice it – Add some curry powder, cumin, coriander, or other spice of choice into the butter, for a touch of extra flavour.

• Crunch it – Finish with a big handful of store-bought crispy Asian Fried Shallots or pangrattato (from this recipe), for great texture!

But that’s enough from me. What about you? I know you’ve got a stack of other creative (easy!) ways to dress up a bowl of peas. Share, share! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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How I cook frozen peas – Garlic Buttered Peas

Recipe video above. Make frozen peas fabulous with my recipe for buttered peas! A quick side that goes with everything. Don't boil the peas – cook from frozen in garlic butter. Easier, tastier, bright green, never mushy and never watery!

Course Side

Cuisine Western

Keyword buttered peas, chickpea recipe, pea side dish recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 129cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter (or other oil/fat)
• 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 500g / 1 lb frozen peas (Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp water

Instructions

• Sauté garlic – Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until light golden.
• Cook – Add frozen peas, salt, pepper and water. Turn heat up to medium high and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the water is evaporated, the peas are hot and coated in the tasty garlic butter.
• Serve – Tumble into a bowl and serve!

Notes

1. Peas – Baby peas (also called petite peas) are slightly sweeter and slightly more tender skin than regular peas. But by no means do I have a negative thoughts about regular peas!

2. Dress up peas – Finely chopped mint stirred through at the end, a shower of parmesan (oh yes!), lemon zest and/or juice, a pinch of cumin or coriander powder stirred into the butter (or other spices of choice). Fresh herbs of choice, chopped and stirred through at the end. So many options!

3. Leftovers will keep for 4 days in the fridge, or freezer for 3 months.

Nutrition per serving assuming 6 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 129cal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 847IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

More sides

Pea Puree (side / sauce!)

Pea, Cabbage, Parmesan and Mint Salad

Spring Salad!

Peas

Life of Dozer

Snippet from today’s recipe video!

The post How I cook frozen peas – Garlic Buttered Peas appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Pea Puree is a fine dining restaurant favourite, loved for the vibrant splash of colour it adds to a plate, that it serves a dual purpose as a side and sauce, as well as the sweet flavour that pairs so well with almost any protein!

This is a recipe given to me by a classically trained French Chef, Jean-Baptiste Alexandre, culinary collaborator of RecipeTin Eats.

Pea Puree

Welcome to Day 14 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve. Something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!!

Now, I do know that today’s dish isn’t a salad as such, but it is made with vegetables (peas count!). And also it is an exceptionally good side dish for the Rack of Lamb I just published so I’m declaring that it qualifies!

I also think that this is an excellent side dish option for roasts and other grand centrepieces that make an appearance during the festive season. I love how it adds a big splash of colour to any table. Plus, it’s something different from the usual mashed potato, right?

What is pea puree?

It is literally cooked peas that are blitzed until it’s a smooth puree. It tastes like peas – sweet and a fairly subtle flavour which makes it ideal to serve as a side dish with many things.

It’s a fine dining restaurant favourite, often used to smear onto a plate before artfully arranging a piece of protein on top.

Basic recipes will just boil with stock/broth then blitz which is fine, but it literally just tastes like peas.

To make Pea Puree properly, the way fine dining restaurants do, start by sautéing garlic and eschalots in butter before adding the peas and stock. This one little extra step really makes all the difference. It makes pea puree taste luxurious.

What goes in Pea Puree

Here’s what you need:

Yes, you see frozen peas. Because I totally buy into the whole snap frozen thing!!

If you have the time to pod your own peas, I applaud you. (And please invite me over for dinner).

Optional straining – for ultra smooth

I’m not going to lie to you – if you’re at my house for a casual dinner, I’ll serve Pea Puree to you straight out of the food processor. If you’ve got a powerful one, it will be acceptably smooth.

However, if you really want to achieve a restaurant-quality result, push it through a mesh colander / sieve. It’s easy using a rubber spatula it takes less than 1 minute to do.

Do that, and the pea puree will be as silky smooth as the stuff dotting plates at posh restaurants!

How to serve Pea Puree

Pea Puree is sensational served with almost any protein for both the vibrant colour it adds to any plate or dish, as well as the subtle sweet flavour.

It acts as both a side dish as well as like a sauce, and the reason I’m sharing this recipe is because it’s a suggested side/sauce for a Rosemary Crumbed Rack of Lamb I just shared. For a proper British touch you could stir in some finely chopped mint to the puree, as a modern and much more appealing interpretation of traditional mint sauce with lamb!

Pea Puree will go well with literally any protein – meat or seafood. Here are a few ideas:

• Simple baked Chicken Breast or pan fried piece of fish

• It would look stunning under a Crispy Skin Salmon or any plain baked or pan-fried fish (in fact, that’s a posh restaurant favourite!)

• Excellent alongside Crackling Roast Pork, and a match made in heaven with a buttery Herb & Garlic Roast Chicken.

To serve it, you can either do it the fine dining way – dollop and spread the pea puree onto a plate then place protein on top. Or just do it the normal people’s way and serve bowls of it with a spoon for everybody to help themselves! – Nagi x

PS In case you were in any doubt, the latter is my way. 😂

What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?

This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!

These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??

Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂

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Pea Puree

Basic recipes will call for just boiling peas then pureeing. The fine dining restaurant way is to saute garlic and eschalots in butter before adding peas and stock to simmer until soft, blitzing into a puree then pressing through a colander to make it silky smooth. It tastes luxurious!

Wonderful side dish with any protein – meats, roasts, fish, prawns/shrimp – for both the splash of colour and the dual purpose it serves as a side dish as well as a semi-sauce. Nice change from the usual mash!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French, Western

Keyword chickpea recipe, frozen peas, pea puree, pea side dish

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 6 – 8 people

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 kg / 2 lb frozen peas
• 125g / 8 tbsp butter , unsalted
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium eschalots , finely sliced (ie the baby onions, aka French onions, US: shallots)
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock/broth , low sodium (use vegetable stock if the puree is for fish)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper

Minted option:

• 1 small handfuls mint leaves (optional)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Aromatics: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and eschalots, saute 3 minutes until soft, but don't let them go golden.
• Cook peas: Add frozen peas and stock, increase heat to bring to simmer then cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 2 minutes.
• Reserve Liquid: Remove 1/3 cup liquid from the saucepan, reserve.
• Blitz: Transfer all peas and remaining liquid into a food processor. Add salt and pepper, and mint if using. Blitz on high for 1 minute until smooth.
• Optional straining: For extra smooth, press through a mesh colander with a rubber spatula (it's easy).
• Adjust consistency: Use Reserved Liquid as needed to achieve the desired consistency – I like a soft, dolloping consistency. Sometimes people want it looser. Add more salt and pepper if desired – remember, this is not supposed to be strongly flavoured or seasoned!
• Serve warm. Either dollop/smear onto plates, or serve in bowls for people to help themselves.

Life of Dozer

Just another day in the Life of Dozer – at the local dog park!

The post Pea Puree (side / sauce!) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

As the name suggests, Spring Salad is a seasonal salad filled with spring’s bounty of vegetables: Asparagus, snow peas, peas and cos lettuce (romaine), dotted with goats cheese for some creamy tang and a fresh lemon dressing. Elegant, pretty and refreshing!

Welcome to Day 9 of the inaugural Holiday Salad Marathon, where I’m sharing 30 salads in a row through to Christmas Eve – just for something different to the usual sugar-loaded baking countdowns!!

And I actually have to share this one today, otherwise I’ll have to change the name to “Summer Salad” (today’s the last day of spring)!

Spring Salad

This is a wonderful, vibrantly green salad that makes the most of vegetables that are in season during spring, when they’re at their cheapest and best.

The whole point of this Salad Marathon is to share ideas for something more interesting than a dreary iceberg lettuce with tomato and cucumber routine, and this salad ticks that box!

A combination of cooked and raw ingredients, this salad is made with blanched asparagus, snow peas and peas which are then piled onto baby cos lettuce (aka romaine) leaves, dotted with soft goats cheese and drizzled with a lemon dressing.

“Seasonal” is often no more than a token word in the food world, but this salad’s as truly seasonal as it gets!

What goes in Spring Salad

Here’s a visual of what you need (which I realise I just listed above… this is just in case you glossed over the words!!😂)

The vegetables are all conveniently blanched in the same pot to simplify the recipe. I just add them in the order it takes for them to cook until “tender crisp”, meaning they are just cooked: Not raw but still a bit crisp, rather than boiled to death, soggy and sad.

As for the baby cos lettuce (aka romaine), the smaller leaves can be used whole. For the larger outer leaves, I like to cut it down the middle, like so:

There’s nothing this salad won’t pair with (Asian food aside, really). Alongside a quick Honey Garlic Chicken Breast, or BBQ Smothered Beef Brisket. A classic piece of seared fish or Crispy Skin Salmon (perhaps with a Lemon Butter Sauce), a big steaming bowl of Creamy Chicken Pasta or as a side to a summer Marinated Vegetable Pasta Salad.

Classic, seasonal, vibrantly green and elegant. I think you’ll enjoy this one! – Nagi x

What is the Holiday Salad Marathon?

This is my inaugural Christmas recipe countdown where I am sharing 30 salad recipes in a row until Christmas Eve – something completely different to people’s usual baking countdowns!

These salads are in addition to my regular 3 new recipes a week. Because aren’t you bored of the usual tomato-cucumber-lettuce garden salad routine??

Click here to see all the Holiday Salad Marathon recipes to date, or sign up for instant updates and you’ll receive a free email alert whenever I publish a new salad! 🙂

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Spring Salad with Goats Cheese

A wonderful way to use seasonal spring vegetables to make an elegant salad that goes with just about everything! This salad combines asparagus, snow peas, peas, cos (romaine). We then add goats cheese for creamy and tangy pops to take it up another notch. You could easily substitute with feta (preferably soft Danish Feta) or if you prefer milder cheese, dollops of fresh mozzarella, bocconcini or fresh ricotta would work beautifully. Or leave the cheese out altogether if you're being truly virtuous!

Course Side Salad

Cuisine Western

Keyword Asparagus salad, baby cos lettuce salad, gem lettuce salad, pea salad, snow peas recipe, Spring salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 6 people as a side

Calories 206cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Salad:

• 3 bunches (24 spears) asparagus , woody ends snapped off (Note 1)
• 120g / 4oz snow peas (about 16 large or 20 smaller ones), trimmed and string removed
• 1 head baby gem or cos lettuce (aka romaine) washed (16 leaves, Note 2)
• 2 cups fresh or frozen peas (Note 3)
• 90g / 3oz goats cheese
• 1 cup (loosely packed) fresh mint leaves, , roughly torn

Lemon Dressing:

• 1 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
• 2 tbsp (30ml) lemon juice
• 6 tbsp (90ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
• Add snow peas to pot, boil for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Add the asparagus spears, boil for another 1 1/2 minutes.
• Add frozen peas, and boil for another 30 seconds or until the water just returns to a simmer, and peas turn bright green.
• Immediately drain, refresh vegetables under cold running water until cooled to stop cooking process.
• Remove the asparagus and snow peas, blot with paper towels to dry. Leave peas in colander to drain, giving them a toss now and then to help them dry. (It's important to dry vegetables, otherwise it dilutes the dressing and it won't stick. You could use a salad spinner with care, o just let them naturally dry which is easier.)
• Split the larger baby cos leaves down the middle, use the small ones whole.
• Cut asparagus stems in half on a slight angle.
• Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar.
• Combine vegetables in a bowl, dress and toss.
• Arrange salad on a platter (Note 5). Top with small chunks of goats cheese. Serve immediately!

Notes

1. Asparagus ends are fibrous and stringy. Just grab 3 or 4 and snap the ends off – it will naturally break at the right point. (If your asparagus is a bit old and floppy, this won’t work so you have to cut)

2. Lettuce – Any crisp lettuce will really do here. Baby lettuce looks nice, the way the asparagus and snow peas nestle in them. But you could easily just chop normal size cos lettuce (romaine), even iceberg or other crisp lettuce types.

But really, any leafy greens will work a treat with these vegetables and the lemon dressing. Shredded cabbage, baby spinach, rocket/arugula, mixed greens, kale (shred and marinate it using this recipe).

3. Peas – You could be a real stickler and use fresh peas here. I used frozen – I totally buy into the whole snap-frozen = better quality than old “fresh” peas thing.

4. Goats cheese – feel free to sub with other cheese like feta (preferably Danish), fresh mozzarella (tear by hand), bocconcini, or even blue cheese if that’s your thing. (Certainly is mine!)

5. For arrangement, hold back half the peas. Arrange and and then scatter over the remaining peas. Otherwise they all fall to the bottom as you arrange! You want your salad pretty and showing all the vegetables!

6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6.

Nutrition

Calories: 206cal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 450mg | Potassium: 332mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3834IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 3mg

Life of Dozer

No interest in this recipe as I was photographing it! Now if it were a hunk of beef, he’d be heavy breathing all over it……

The post Spring Salad! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

I don’t really know what a Christmas salad is. But I do know that a festive looking salad when I see one – anything that’s red, green and white! This is a great salad for making a ahead because blanched vegetables stay wonderfully crisp in the fridge.

*** This recipe is part of a Christmas Special where I show you how to make 3 mains and 4 side dishes that take 1.5 hrs to prepare and can be largely made ahead. So this Christmas, you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your family!  ***

When it comes to salads for a Christmas spread, two things spring to mind:

1. Can I make ahead?

2. Is it Christmassy??

What makes a salad a Christmas salad, anyway?? I didn’t know the answer to that – and I wasn’t going to google it! So I took matters into my own hands and made up a salad with classic Christmas colours – red, green and white.

Yes you can make it ahead! Actually, it’s perfect for making ahead because the “greens” are beans, snow peas and asparagus which I blanched the night before then stored in the fridge overnight. They stayed lovely and fresh. I made the dressing and kept that in the fridge too. Then to serve, I just added the dried cranberries (the red) and crumbled over feta (the white!).

OK, I’m signing off now. Keeping this sweet and short because….well, to be honest, I’m writing up my 7 course Christmas Special and I’m running out of steam!! And I figure salad is not where I should be investing my energy (not when I have duck, ham and turkey to write up….and a legendary stuffing in pancetta cups!!).

Do you think this salad is Christmassy?? – Nagi

******

Easy, Stress Free Seven Course Christmas Menu (1.5 hr prep)

You can read about this menu here, including a step by step of the order in which I prepared, baked, reheated and plated up each dish. I made all these dishes (with the exception of the cabbage salad) for a Christmas Party with my friends and these are photos of the actual dishes that I took to the party. I’m sharing this in the hope that it might inspire your Christmas menu!

• Easy Maple Sticky Glazed Ham (15 min prep, 1 – 1 1/2 hrs inactive baking, can be made ahead)

• Juicy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (5 min prep, then set and forget, reheats well but best slow cooked overnight on the night before serving)

• Festive Duck with Apple Cider Drizzle (5 min prep, 1 1/2 hr inactive baking, reheats very well)

• Pork Apple Stuffing in Pancetta Cups (20 min prep and worth every second. Reheats extremely well)

• Julia Child’s Potato Dauphinoise Gratin (15 min prep, 45 min baking, reheats very well)

• This Red, Green and White Christmas Salad (10 minutes prep)

• Warm Red Cabbage and Spinach with Garlic Herb Butter (10 minutes prep)

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Red, Green and White Christmas Salad

A festive salad filled with Christmas colours to compliment any festive spread! Perfect for making ahead.

Course Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 as a side

Calories 167cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

• 2 bunches asparagus
• 10 oz / 300g green beans
• 5 oz / 150g snow peas
• 4 oz / 120g feta
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Dressing

• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to boil.
• Cut the woody ends off the asparagus, then cut the asparagus into 3. Separate the asparagus heads from the stems.
• Trim the beans and place in a separate pile.
• Remove the strings along each side of the snow peas.
• Place the beans in the boiling water. When the water comes back to the simmer again, leave the beans to simmer for 30 seconds. (Note 1)
• Add the asparagus stems in. Once it comes back up to a simmer, count 30 seconds again. Then add the snow peas and asparagus heads, bring it back up to a simmer and count to 30 seconds.
• Immediately drain the greens and run cold water over the greens for 10 seconds to stop the cooking process.
• Once cool, set aside to dry. Roughly dry with a paper towel if serving immediately.
• Combine the Dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well to mix.
• Place the greens in a bowl and toss with the Dressing.
• Transfer to a serving bowl, crumble over feta and scatter with dried cranberries. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. When you first toss the vegetables into the boiling water, the water stops boiling/bubbling because the temperature drops. When the water comes back up to the boil / simmer (i.e. when the water is bubbling again), start timing.

2. If making ahead, store the undressed greens in the fridge, covered, until required.

3. Nutrition per serving as a side.

Nutrition

Serving: 128g | Calories: 167cal | Carbohydrates: 8.7g | Protein: 4.3g | Fat: 13.9g | Saturated Fat: 3.8g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 333mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 2.8g | Sugar: 4.9g | Vitamin A: 750IU | Vitamin C: 26.4mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 1.6mg

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The post Red, Green and White Christmas Salad appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.