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| Best known as an accompaniment to fish and chips, mushy peas have much more to offer. Here's Jenny Chandler's recipe for simple but sublime classic mushy marrowfat peas, with a solution to achieving a rich green colour without food colouring, and suggestions for mouth-watering ways to serve them. |
There’s just no better accompaniment to classic fish and chips but my passion for mushy peas doesn’t end there. Cooked marrowfat peas can be used as a base for hummus-like purées, to thicken soups and stews or as pie fillings once combined with tasty veg or meat. It's easy to add some extra pizzazz by adding different seasonings, like these Moorish Mushy Peas with Harissa.
To my mind it’s never worth cooking up less than 500g of peas. You can always freeze any leftovers in smaller portions for a quick fix at a later date.
A teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda can be added to the peas whilst soaking or cooking (to speed up the softening process), but you can still achieve that perfect creamy texture with nothing but water - unless your water is especially hard. Bicarbonate of soda can give a slightly soapy flavour (some cooks counterbalance this with sugar) and it’s also said to reduce the nutritional value of the peas, so I’d rather leave it out.
We’ve come to expect the lurid green of most ready-cooked mushy peas, often achieved with artificial food colourings. As some may turn their noses up at the less glamorous beige of the natural pea, I've also provided an optional variation on the recipe for Green Mushy Peas.
No, I’m not going suggest that you use fresh peas as so many recipes do, the whole point of mushy peas is the fabulous texture, flavour and nutritional value of the dried pea. A little veg goes a very long way when it comes to greening up your peas, so, if you’re not a spinach lover please do still give this a chance. My daughter loathes spinach and yet she lapped up the peas without an inkling that they contained her least favourite vegetable.
Makes 10 generous portions
Ingredients
For Green Mushy Peas (optional)
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Method
Optional steps for Green Mushy Peas
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I soaked the peas with the bicarb for 24h cleaned them and i have had the on the stove for a good 2 hours and cannot get the peas to soften, what am i going wrong.
I haven’t cooked dried beans since I was a kid. This was the first recipe I tried with my new beans, peas and pulses. The amount of water suggested is way too much. “…to cover by about 5 cm” – well I did that and after 40 minutes the peas were done but totally swimming in water, like mega drowning. Such a shame as I agree that means you’re pouring off good nutrients. I re-did this recipe, and it worked by just covering instead, and then removing the lid after 10 minutes. Maybe because I soaked for 12 hours they don’t absorb so much in the pan?? Having realised the author is into over-stating amounts I was much more cautious with the spinach – you only need about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the blended spinach to change the colour, again the amount in the recipe is too much and if I’d used it all it would have changed the flavour of the peas. I’ve actually found reading most of the recipes on this site that the instructions for cooking the pulses/peas/beans are not that helpful to a total beginner, they need to be more specific and detailed (in my opinion) ie volume of water in ml to go with a specific volume of pulse.
or do it the traditional Scottish way, and serve with salt and vinegar. Delish.
You don’t need bicarbonate of soda. It can impart a funny taste to the peas, as well as making you fart like a dray horse (the peas will be sufficiently fartiferous without bicarb). Just soak the peas overnight in plenty of water. Rinse and (for by far the best results) place in a pressure cooker with enough fresh water to go about an inch over the top and a little salt (½tsp or so). Bring up to pressure then cook for anything upto 25 minutes, so as they are properly mushy (or rather ‘squashy’ in my family). I don’t bother with anything to make them a brighter green, they don’t need it. take off heat and let pressure cooker release pressure naturally, of mixture looks too wet, drain a little cooking water off, then add mint sauce, white pepper and a little malt vinegar to taste, mash a little more with a spud masher if necessary. Tuck in. Delicious, and you’ll be farting your socks off in a few hours.
Lard – not butter or olive oil.
Now you know.
Just soaked all 500g of mine for 24 hours, then 10 minutes in the pressure cooker. Added salt and pepper then very large knob of butter……OMG! cant stop eating them! I’ve only ever had tinned ones, and these beat them hands down! No i didnt add spinach (i love spinach) but i like the natural grey green colour!
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Swap blood for beans with Eden's vegetarian riff on black pudding. With pearled naked barley for a bit of chewiness, this hearty and spicy dish is best enjoyed with wholemeal soda bread.
Chris Clowea
June 09, 2020
This recipe looks lovely. I am buying some of your marrowfat peas , could I grow a few of them would they germinate? Thanks
Chris