Category Archives: peas

roast chicken with petits pois a la francais

Posted by Gary in bread, chicken, food, lettuce, peas and tagged with ,

roast chicken with petits pois a la francais and sourdough bread

Sometimes, when you’re cooking dinner you just know it’s going to be good, you can feel it. This was one of those times.

It was an excuse to eat peas, this one: the peas are a recipe from attending Waitrose Cookery School recently (more on that in a future post). I know it’s a classical French recipe but this is just so damn tasty. This from someone who isn’t that bothered about peas. Seriously, they’re amazing. Try this on their own. I would of course usually roast a chicken in my favourite Heston way, but on this occasion I was caught short and had to cook the chicken on the quick and roasted it in the traditional way. It was fine, but I do miss the succulence afforded by lovely brined meat. All that aside, this combination of chicken and braised peas is just brill. The gravy is inspired by a method described in Alex Mackay’s new book Everybody, Everyday.

By the way, note only the breasts were required for this recipe. I used the other parts of chicken for meals elsewhere in the week.

Roast chicken with petits pois a la français (serves 4):

For the chicken:

1.7kg chicken

1 onions, quartered

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

For the peas:

25g butter

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

4 rashers bacon, sliced

1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

250g petits pois

2 little gem lettuces, shredded

A large handful of parsley, finely chopped

For the gravy:

600ml chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornflour

Sourdough bread, to serve

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Free the chicken from its trussing, put it in a roasting tray, slather it in olive oil and season well. Pop a quarter of the onion and half the garlic in the cavity, and scatter the remaining alliums around the chicken. Pop in the oven for 1 hour to 1hr 30mins, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 70°C+. Allow to rest, covered, for at least 15 mins before carving (only the breasts are required for this recipe).
  3. When the chicken has been in for about 30 mins, melt the butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the bacon and rosemary and cook for a couple more minutes, then add the peas and lettuce. Cover and allow to raise for 30 mins, stirring occasionally. When the peas are tender check for seasoning and add the parsley.
  4. For the gravy, boil the stock and soy together until reduced by a quarter. Mix the cornflour with a splash of water and whisk this in. When the chicken has been removed from the oven add the juices from the pan to the gravy. Serve everything together with sourdough bread to soak up the gravy.

heston blumenthal’s pea and ham soup

Posted by Gary in food, gammon, ham, peas, stock and tagged with

heston blumenthal's pea and ham soup

“You don’t like small food, do you?”

That’s something someone said about my eating habits a few years back. It’s not completely accurate but did draw together a few of my food hates: sweetcorn, baked beans and peas. Baked beans remain the work of the devil, I’m still not really sold on sweetcorn (why does it always end up in tuna?) but over the years I have grown to accept peas. And if any recipe is going to fully convince me of the power of the pea, it’s a Heston one. I was sent this recipe by someone who knows of my Hesotn obsession, and comes from his new book Heston Blumenthal at Home.

peas defrostingIt’s refreshingly free of bonkers twists, as long as you discount defrosting frozen peas. Oh yes, frozen peas – I think most chefs now accept frozen is the way to have peas if they’re not straight from your garden. And the peas are barely cooked so they retain their vibrant colour and fresh taste.

The finishing touch, as is so common with Heston recipes (I’m looking at you, vanilla salt), the thing that just makes it. A few drops of mint oil is a crystal clear note among the comforting, meaty flavours.

It’s absolutely delicious. Creamy and fresh, with a round, savoury flavour that is amplified in all directions. Do try it, it’s brilliant.

Heston Blumenthal’s pea and ham soup (serves 4):

1kg gammon joint

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 leek, white part only, rinsed and sliced

8 mint leaves

30ml extra virgin olive oil

900g frozen peas

65g butter, diced

75g shallots, finely diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

160g unsmoked bacon, cut into lardons

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 85°C. Pop the gammon, onion, leek and carrot into a casserole and barely cover with water. Bring to a simmer on the hob, pop a lid on it and transfer to the oven for 5 hours.
  2. While the gammon cooks, put the mint in the oil and leave in a warm place to infuse. Line a baking tray with kitchen roll and layer the frozen peas on this to defrost and absorb excess moisture.
  3. When the gammon is done, let the meat cool in the liquor. Sieve off the solids (Heston then says to discard the veg, but I squeezed out the excess juice and mixed with mash the following day for fab bubble ‘n’ squeak). Then shred 180g of the meat for the soup – the remainder you can keep for another day.
  4. Get a large frying pan over a low heat and add 25g of the butter. Ad the bacon, shallots and garlic and sizzle for five minutes so they soften but do not colour.
  5. Add 750ml of the gammon stock and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add all but 75g of the peas and the rest of the butter and remove from the heat. Liquidize then strain through a sieve, squishing thoroughly to get as much good stuff in the pan as possible. Season to taste and reheat gently.
  6. Use a hand blender to aerate and thicken the soup, then add the reserved gammon and remaining peas. Allow these to warm up and then serve, drizzling with mint oil.

cottage pie with vegetable mash topping

Posted by Gary in beef, carrots, peas, potatoes, sweet potato

cottage pie with vegetable mash topping

I’ve been trying out Sainsbury’s ‘Feed Your Family for £50′ meal planner lately, and this recipe is a real crowd-pleaser: tasty mince with piles of mashy veg on top.

Have you tried any of the recipes or the whole Meal Plan? If so let Sainsbury’s know. Very soon they’ll be giving you the chance to win a £50 meal plan and put it to the test, feeding your family for a week, see the Sainsbury’s site and follow them on Facebook and Twitter for details.

Cottage pie with vegetable mash topping (serves 4):

1 onion, peeled & finely chopped

350g lean beef steak mince

400g sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into 4cm chunks

300g carrots, peeled & chopped

300g potatoes, peeled & cut into 4cm chunks

30g Butterlicious spread

380g Basics frozen British Garden peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

200ml beef stock (1/2 stock cube)

  1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion for 5-10 minutes, until soft, adding in the garlic for the last minute. Turn the heat up to medium/high, add the mince and cook for 5 minutes. Stir through the tomato purée and mixed herbs, then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened. Add the peas at the last minute.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas 6. Cook the sweet potatoes, potatoes and carrots in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, until soft. Drain and mash with the Butterlicious.
  3. Spoon the mince mixture into a 1.5 litre-baking dish and top with the mash. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the top is crispy and browned.

fish pie

Posted by Gary in fish, peas, potatoes and tagged with ,

fish pie

During his TV series In Search of Perfection Heston Blumenthal crafts his perfect fish pie. I love a good fish pie, and I’m sure this one is superb although as with many of his recipes it requires oddities, not limited to oyster juice (?), hay-smoked haddock and agar-agar powder. I don’t quite fancy this level of faff, but recall that during the TV programme the potato topping he made sent him quite giddy. His face said “turn that camera off and I will eat the whole bowl of this right now”, so I thought I’d lift the mash on to a more basic fish pie recipe. I turned to Marcus Wareing’s, as featured in a Guardian round-up of student recipes.

The fish filling was smooth and comforting with lovely smoked haddock and the refreshing bite of peas. But the mash was something else. Almost milkshake-smooth with a lovely savoury tang – it comes highly recommended. It’s nowhere near as complex as some of his recipes, so give Heston Blumenthal’s potato purée a whirl.

Fish pie (makes 4 pies):

For the pie filling:

1l milk

400g smoked haddock

2 bay leaves

Sprig of thyme

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons flour

Nutmeg

50g frozen peas

For the potato purée:

250g Charlotte potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm slices

75g unsalted butter, cubed

50ml milk

2 egg yolks

40g Comté cheese, grated

1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 dessert spoon creamed horseradish

  1. To make the filling, bring half the milk with bay and thyme to a gentle simmer. Add the haddock and poach gently until cooked through, about 6 minutes. Put the fish to one side and discard the milk.
  2. Melt the butter into a saucepan and add the flour. Use a wooden spoon and beat into paste. Allow to cook for a minute or two and gradually add the rest of the milk until it forms a lovely smooth sauce. If it’s not looking great, turn up the heat and go mad with a whisk. Determination will pull it together. Continue to stir for another few minutes to thicken. Season and grate over a few strokes of nutmeg.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the peas. Flake the haddock in (good chance to get rid of the bones here). Pour into the dishes you will eventually cook them in and leave to cool – this will let the mash sit on top a little happier.
  4. For the mash, rinse the potato slices in plenty of cold water to remove excess starch. Boil in 80°C simmering water for 30 minutes, then drain and cool the slices under cold water. Put into boiling water, salted this time and simmer for 15 minutes until completely soft. This two-stage process ensures it is cooked completely through and avoids the possibility of a grainy purée.
  5. Drain the potatoes again, pop them back in the pan and let them dry thoroughly by shaking over a low heat. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  6. Place the butter in a bowl. Pop a fine sieve over the top and using a spatula force the potato through the sieve, then fold through the butter.
  7. Simmer the milk in a pan and incorporate the buttery potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients over this low heat and check for seasoning.
  8. Pipe the mash over the top of the pie and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the potato is lightly browned on top.

not quite carbonara

Posted by Gary in cream cheese, food, pancetta, parmesan, pasta, peas

not quite carbonara

I apologise for that photo, it makes it look really rough. It wasn’t though, honest!

I was driving home on Sunday and was hit by a sudden wave of pasta-longing: I wanted carbonara. I haven’t had any in ages. So that was Monday’s dinner sorted. One small catch though; with my wife about 8 months pregnant barely-cooked egg didn’t seem like the smartest of moves therefore some invention was required. As Dad-Baker pointed out, “If you can make a pasta sauce Look like a Carbonara, Taste like a Carbonara and Smell like a Carbonara, then surely it Must be a Carbonara – even if there are no eggs in it. “ How to change it then?

After some research it seemed like cream cheese was the way to go, not only was it skipping eggs but came with the bonus of avoiding mega fattening cream too. Also added peas as a passing nod to a rounded meal. Mushrooms would also be welcome here for a more alfredo style. The result was very satisfying, definitely ticking all the right carbonara boxes: creamy, cheesy, silky. Ready in no time at all to boot.

Not quite carbonara (serves 2):

5 tagliatelle nests

1 tablespoon garlic oil*

75g pancetta

175g light cream cheese

Grated parmesan, to taste

handful frozen peas

  1. Cook the tagliatelle according to packet instructions. (Give them plenty of space to expand!)
  2. Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in the garlic oil until browned all over.
  3. Add your cream cheese, mashing it up a bit to break it down.
  4. It probably won’t have formed a sauce so ladle out a tablespoonful at a time of your pasta water to thin it until it’s a smooth creamy consistency. Add grated parmesan and season until you’re happy with it.
  5. Add the peas, simmer for a minute more, then toss with the cooked pasta to combine.

*I have a bottle in my cupboard of garlic oil I’ve made – just a few cloves of garlic left in a bottle of fairly-good olive oil. Well worth it – I used up a Christmas gift of oil for this purpose!

spaghetti with prosciutto and artichoke

Posted by Gary in artichoke, food, mascarpone, pasta, peas, prosciutto

spaghetti with prosciutto and artichoke

Pleased as punch note: this recipe has been given the Jamie Oliver seal of approval :-)

A lightning fast pasta dinner. All those wonderful tasty ingredients coming together in a dish that allows you to taste each element yet come together as a varied and interesting whole. Fresh peas, salty prosciutto, meaty artichoke… lovely.

Spaghetti with prosciutto and artichoke:

250g spaghetti

5 slices of prosciutto, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

250ml white wine

250g artichokes, cut into rough chunks

2 tablespoons mascarpone

Grated zest of 1 lemon

A handful of frozen peas

2 teaspoons of finely chopped parsley

  1. Put the pasta on to cook according to the packet instructions.
  2. Fry the garlic and prosciutto in olive oil until edges of the meat is curled and browning.
  3. Add the white wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add seasoning.
  4. Add the lemon zest, peas and artichokes until warmed through.
  5. Add the mascarpone and allow to bubble a bit. Add a splash of water from the boiling pan to slacken if necessary.
  6. Add the drained pasta and season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley.

vermicelli with pancetta, pea and courgette

Posted by Gary in courgettes, food, pancetta, peas, thyme, vermicelli

vermicelli with pancetta, pea and courgette

I get home from work and realise I am cooking for one. This means invention time!

I know I have some vermicelli I want to use, so water goes on to boil while I rummage for goodies. I scavenge pancetta and a lonely courgette, so that’s as good a start as any. I chuck the vermicelli in salted water while I fry garlic and pancetta together in a hot pan. When that browns I throw in a diced courgette and toss well. Then I dash out to the window box to trim off some thyme leaves, which go in. I then add a splash of marsala for sweetness then add some chicken stock. The pasta’s done so that is drained and then swirled in the frying pan, and topped up with a little more stock and some frozen peas.

A lovely 8 min din.

Vermicelli with pancetta, pea and courgette:

200g vermicelli pasta

1 pack diced pancetta

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 courgette

1 teaspoon thyme leaves

2 tablespoons marsala

500ml chicken stock

2 teaspoons frozen peas

Boil vermicelli in salted water until tender and drain.

  1. Fry garlic and pancetta until meat is coloured.
  2. Add thyme leaves and courgette and continue to fry.
  3. Add marsala and allow to bubble for a minute.
  4. Add half the stock and allow to bubble for a bit.
  5. Add the pasta to the pan with the rest of the stock, seasoning as necessary.

paella

Posted by Gary in chorizo, food, peas, peppers, rice

paella with peppers, peas and chorizo

Yes, again. A very simple and rustic one this. I also went against my usual and used the ready-sliced chorizo, which I quickly fried either side to crisp and start to render down. Then in with butter and a red onion with some diced red pepper, and after softening the rice goes in for a minute to toast. Then some white wine for sweetness, then a little paprika and turmeric for colour and flavour. Then veg stock goes over and I leave it alone in my non-stick pan for 20 mins or so. The liquid is almost all gone, so I check for seasoning and add a handful or frozen peas and the chorizo and once the peas are warmed through, it’s done. Munchy, tasty stuff as the soft rice gives way to the mellow paprika.

chorizo hot pot

Posted by Gary in chorizo, food, pasta, peas

One of those “Feed Your Family For A Fiver” things from Sainsbury’s. I can’t help but embellish though.

Two onions (two onions? Insanity!) and my old friend, sliced chorizo are fried together til crispy. Then tinned tomatoes, veg stock and some conchiglie are added. This is where I chuck in oregano and paprika, cos it just sounds too bland. Twenty minutes later there’s frozen peas in there, and once they’re done, we’re done.
To my surprise it didn’t need any seasoning at all. Nice one J Sains.

balti beef

Posted by Gary in beef, curry, food, mince, peas


A dreadfully-named dish this one; but it inverts a standard cooking cornerstone in a way that really baffled me. It came from a Weight Watchers book of all places, though it has dubious dietary heritage.

Rather than the time-honoured tradition of: sweat onions in oil, then add meat, the method for this is to dry-fry mince until it starts to leak oil and then chuck the onions in. I suppose this is marginally healthier. I add grated garlic to this, then some patented Gary Masala and turmeric, with seasoning. Allowing these flavours to develop for a few minutes I then add a good puddle of beef stock, frozen peas and a tablespoon of mango chutney. It sounds utterly perverse, but after just a couple of minutes simmering you get a spicy, fruity, meaty bowl of food that is immensely satisfying.