Three Minute Thursdays, #1 - Yes Peas!

It's ages since I have done any of these posts. But hearing a chap on the radio talking about the Great British Pea Week [it began on Monday and runs through till Sunday] inspired me to have another series. Check out here if you missed out on previous TMTs.

Britain is the largest producer, and consumer of frozen peas in Europe. It's always useful to have a bag of Cap'n Birdseye's Best in the freezer [or Lidl's cheaper, but equally tasty, equivalent] Here are a few TMT tips for making the most of these little green gems;

First of all - always decant your bag of frozen peas into a tupperware box. Otherwise, no matter how hard you try, there will be escapeas  which fall to the bottom of the freezer and lay there reproachfully when you finally get around to defrosting the great white iceberg.

Regard frozen peas as a store-cupboard-staple and not just the accompaniment to sausage and mash. Here are some good ideas

Blitz frozen peas with oil, mint, cheese, garlic etc [recipe here] to make a lovely fresh green pesto. Spread it on bruschetta, stir it into pasta ... or make Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham by stirring the pesto into scrambled eggs.

Pea omelettes, and a splash of colour, and a hit of Vitamin C to a light and summery egg dish. A plate of gold, embellished with emeralds. 

Throw a few peas into a fresh salad. Don't fall into the lazy trap of perpetually presenting the same old salad that they serve in Kath's Kaff [lettuce/toms/cuc/onion]  An unexpected ingredient can make all the difference. Try peas  [or sweetcorn, nuts, sunflower seeds]

Peas, lemon [preserved or fresh] and mint [or tarragon] will lift a bowl of plain couscous to new heights of flavour.

US Cook Ina Garten [aka The Barefoot Contessa] has a Fresh Pea and Mint Soup recipe [here] I'm cheating a bit with this one - because she says 'if you use frozen peas, they cook in only 3 minutes' - the whole recipe does takes a bit longer!

And if you haven't time to try any of these, then just spend 3 minutes looking through the Great British Pea Week website or the Birdseye Peas Recipes page.
More TMTs next week!