Peas

Leftover	Idea & ingredients	recipe
Peas	Soup Peas make a fantastic and quick soup. INGREDIENTS 125g peas per person 200ml chicken or veg stock 1 tablepsoon cream or crème fraiche Salt and pepper Boil stock (stock cubes just fine), add peas and bring to the boil.  If raw, cook peas for 5 minutes. Add cream and blitz. Season to taste. Serve with something sprinkled on top – a few peas, a bit of chopped, fried bacon, a sprinkle of chopped herbs, or a swirl of cream.
Peas	Dip This starchy little pulse makes a beautiful dip. INGREDIENTS Cooked peas Mascarpone or cream cheese Cream or mayonnaise Salt and pepper Blitz or mash the peas with an equal quantity of mascarpone or cream cheese. Add cream or mayonnaise for a dipping consistency. Season to taste.
Peas	Bruschetta –
Peas	Wraps A great little canapé or more substantial snack INGREDIENTS Cooked peas Lettuce – the soft leaf type and roughly torn Mascarpone or cream cheese Salt and pepper Mix mayonnaise with mascarpone or cream cheese – season to taste and add the peas. Trim the front edge of the wraps (about 2cm) to create a straight edge and butter right up to the edges. With the straight edge towards you fill with a line of lettuce and a line of pea mixture, roll to cover the pea mix then add a line of lettuce (the finished wrap should have a filling of no more than 3cm in diameter if making canapé-size).  Roll up tightly, wrap in cling film and store in the ‘fridge until needed. For canapés, slice into 2.5 cm rounds.
Peas	Samosas Great picnic food. – and no need for frying as these are baked in the oven. INGREDIENTS Cooked peas Cooked potato roughly crushed Curry powder (or own selection of mixed spices) Filo pastry Vegetable oil Heat oil in a pan and cook curry powder/spices for a minute. Add a splash of water, the peas and potato.  Season to taste. Brush a piece of filo with oil, fold long side in by 1/3 then fold the other long side over to create a triple layer of filo. Put a teaspoon of the mixture at one end of the pastry, fold adjacent corner diagonally across then keep folding to seal the filling inside the triangular pastry parcel. Brush samosas with oil, put on baking sheet and bake in pre-heated hot oven (200c/400F) for about ½ hour until pastry is crisp and gold in colour. Tip  Keep filo and made Samosas covered with clingfilm as you work as this pastry dries out REALLY quickly.
Peas	Cheats’ pea and bacon risotto Easier than you think.  This recipe is for 4 – just rejig quantities depending on your leftovers. INGREDIENTS Handful of cooked peas per person Approx 1 medium onion, chopped 4 rashers of bacon, chopped or some lardons 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 1litre boiling water 300g easy cook risotto rice 2 chicken/vegetable stock cubes 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese Salt and pepper Soften onion gently in the oil with the bacon.  Cook until onion is translucent and sweet smelling. Add risotto rice and cook for a minute to coat rice in oil. Add boiling water and stock cube.  Bring to the boil and cook until rice still has a little bit left to it – not so much that the risotto is rice pudding – about 15 minutes. Season to taste and add peas and parmesan. Serve immediately.
Peas	Valencian peas Lots of lovely fresh flavours make this really something special.  This recipe is for ½ kg (about 1lb) of podded peas. INGREDIENTS ½ onion, chopped 1 clove of garlic, crushed or grated ¼ teaspoon turmeric Pinch of cumin 50ml dry white wine 1 bayleaf Sprig of fresh thyme Fresh parsley, chopped Salt and pepper Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic, turmeric and cumin.  Cook gently until the onion is soft and sweet smelling. Add the peas, herbs, white wine and seasoning, and simmer until the peas are cooked adding a little water if the peas get too dry. Tip Lovely with meat and fish dishes but especially good with ham.
Peas	Pea purée Lovely with fish, fab with seafood and rather special with lamb. INGREDIENTS Peas Cream or stock Blitz cooked peas in the food processor to the desired consistency. Heat a little cream or stock in a saucepan, add the pea puree and warm through, stirring all the time. Season to taste and serve as a side dish drizzled with a little olive oil or melted butter. Tips Also great for resting a cooked fish fillet on, or nice slices of lamb. If you’re watching the calories or cutting out dairy replace the cream with a little chicken or vegetable stock (or a bit of cooking liquid from the peas or other vegetables). For a slightly different flavour, soften some garlic and/or onion in butter or olive oil and blitz with the peas. Stew a few mint leaves in olive oil and blitz for a beautiful mint drizzle for the peas.
Peas	Pea and ham sauce for spaghetti. The saltiness of the bacon is perfect with the sweetness of the peas. INGREDIENTS Peas Ham, bacon or pancetta fried until lightly coloured Purée the peas as above and stir through cooked spaghetti. Top with fried ham, bacon or pancetta Tip Serrano or Parma ham is excellent with this.