I love green peas. We generally get bags and bags of frozen peas, and any time we have a steak or some other simple entree that needs accompaniment, we simmer up the peas, maybe with some sauteed onions and tomatoes.
What else can be done with frozen peas? What about non-frozen peas?
When I was a little kid, my mom used to make creamed peas on toast. Basic white sauce, peas, toast. Now, my mother couldn’t cook to save her life, and I haven’t had this since I was like 8, but I remember it being pretty good.
I love peas, too. I clipped a little pasta salad recipe called “P’s and Q’s” - cook tiny alphabet macaroni (the Q’s part), rinse and cool, toss with thawed frozen green peas, shredded gruyere cheese, and Italian dressing. (Add the cheese just before serving as it can get mushy.)…I also mix peas with corn, put them on top of mashed potatoes with butter, salt and pepper. It’s good alone, or can be a side to some kind of sausage. A kind of bangers and mash. Not very complex, but comfort food I’ve made for untold years.
They’re good in soups, and salads, and pot pies. In fact, when we have pot pies, we have a cooked vegetable as a side dish, and more often than not it’s peas.
A popular Japanese dish using fresh peas in the spring is mame-gohan, or pea rice. Very simple to make by adding some salt, sake and a small piece of kombu if you wish. The best made pea rice has the skin smooth and shiny (which the sake helps promote), and not shrunken and shriveled. This is a staple in Japanese bentos in the spring. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/kitchen/archives2011071801.html