Need a quick and easy side dish? Have a bag of peas in the freezer? Then, you can whip up a delicious dish of pea sott’olio – an Italian dish which means ‘under oil’.
Cooking peas in olive oil with garlic and mint infuses them with an amazing flavour – making them the perfect accompaniment to grilled fish or lamb chops, or try them bruschetta-style served on grilled bread and scattered with torn mozzarella.
Pea sott’olio
Ingredients
- 80 ml olive oil
- 500 g frozen peas thawed
- 2 cloves of garlic or 1 shallot very finely sliced
- A small bunch of fresh mint (or basil if you like) leaves roughly chopped
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
- Put three-quarters of the oil into a saucepan with the garlic or shallot, mint and peas. Add the salt and pepper, together with about three tablespoons of cold water. Cover with a lid and simmer over a moderate heat for about five minutes, then remove from the heat and add the lemon zest.
- Pour the peas into a wide shallow dish and top with the remaining oil. Check the seasoning and leave to sit for five minutes before serving.
Nutrition
The Art Of The Larder by Claire Thompson, photography Mike Lusmore, is published by Quadrille.
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