GREEN PEAS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 69, 22 March 1934, Page 14

GREEN PEAS.

WAYS OF COOKING,

The French have a proverb which says "Eat green peas with the rich and cherries with the poor"; which is only another way of saying that peas, to he properly served want a lot of care and good butter and other ingredients, and must be young, selected and of the best; while cherries can be plucked and eaten off the tree. In fact, to eat peas in perfection they must be gathered the same day and shelled just before cooking. They should be also quite young and the smaller sized,- should be separated from the larger by sifting through a riddle or an ordinary colander. Otherwise if all the little ones are cooked with the largo ones they will be mash before the big ones are done.

Peas in the English Way. —The usual way of serving peas is as a vegetable with the roast joint. After sifting the smaller peas (which should be added at half time), throw a peck of peas into a gallon of boiling water with a tablespoon of salt and when half done, that is, in about a, quarter of an hour, add a lump of sugar and the small peas. Strain and toss a piece, of butter in them just before serving.

Peas in the Italian Way.—Take two small onions, cut in two, toss them in a little oil or fresh water with a small handful of chopped ham. Then add the peas with a, little pepper and salt, and finish cooking them slowly, adding by degrees a little stock and a walnut of

butter or a little oil. They should not bo too moist. Remove the onion before serving.

Peas in the Indian Way. —Put the peas into a jar with about 2oz of butter, some pepper, salt, and a little sugar, and a bunch of mint. Cover the jar very tightly and place in a saucepan of boiling water. Roil till the peas are tender. Peas cooked in this way retain the full flavour better than when boiled in water.

Stewed Peas and Lettuce. —Take a quart of green peas, two good sized round lettuces and cut into small pieces, and a quart of stock. Stew all together in a casserole till tender. Then add a walnut of butter rolled in flour, two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped ham, and a little pepper and salt. When smooth and thick serve up very hot.

Green Peas with New Potatoes. —Boil some water in a casserole and put in a quart of young peas, and a dozen or more small potatoes well washed, but with the skins still 011, a little salt and a bunch of paraley. Arrange so that the peas and potatoes become done at the same time; then when both arc sufficiently tender, drain,, peel the potatoes, niix all on a dish and pour over a «ood quantity of hot butter just before serving.

Green Pea Salad. —Chop up together a small onion 01 shallot, a sprig of chervil and one of tarragon, a little parsley and a small bit of burnet, if procurable. Mix with enough cold peas to make a sufficient dish and pour over the whole a dressing made 111 the proportion of two table-spoonfuls of oil to one dessertspoonful of vinegar and one teaspoonful of Chilli vinegar. The dressing should be added some time before it is required and the salad turned over again before serving.

Pclits Pois a la Creine. —Simmer (not boil) the shucks of the peas for an hour with a dessertspoonful of sugar, a teaspoonful of salt and two sprigs of mint. Then boil your peas in this liquor over a sharp fire till tender. Strain off the peas when done and make a fairly thick sauce with the liquor and a little butter and flour. Replace the pens in Miis and warm thoroughly, stirring all the time. Finish with a large spoonful of thick cream and garnish the dish with fried crotons cut in fancy shapes. The sauce should be of fairly thick consistency and the whole served very hot, if possible over a spirit lamp or hot water dish.

Green Pea Cassolettes. —Line some small, but rather deep round patty pans with thin pastry and bake in a moderate oven for fifteen minutes. Toss freshly shelled peas in butter, add sonic finely chopped ham and sufficient Bechamel sauce to bind, a little chopped parsley, a little nutmeg and a teaspoon! ill of cream. Fill the cases and reheat in the oven, then garnish with a few peas already cooked.

Green Pea Croquettes. —C'ook half a pint of peas, drain and rub them through a sieve. Make a binding sauce with butter, flour and milk and add the sieved peas', mint and seasoning to taste and let the mixture get cold and firm. After shaping, coat with egg and breadcrumbs and fry to a golden brown in pan of hot fat.

Isotes. —Green peas should always have a slightly sweet taste; in fact sugar should * decidedly predominate over salt. The shucks or shells of young green peas can be stewed in plenty of water and the liquor thus produced makes a good foundation for a maigrc soup of any kind. Mint is generally boiled with the peas, but some people do not like the flavour of it.