How I cook frozen peas – Garlic Buttered Peas

Make frozen peas fabulous with this recipe for garlic buttered peas! A quick side dish that goes with everything, the peas are sauté-steamed in garlic butter, rather than boiling separately. Easier, tastier, never mushy and so tasty you’ll become known for them. 🙂

I tend to shy away from sharing basic recipes like today’s Buttered Peas. Too easily distracted by more exciting-sounding dishes. Pierogis! Crispy chicken burgers! Chocolate cream pie!

Yet, the irony in all this, of course, is that I make these peas a gazillion times more often than I do Basque Cheesecake. A staple side dish, quick to make but totally restaurant-worthy. Though, posh restaurants might pod their own rather than buying frozen. I guess they don’t buy into the whole snap-frozen thing like I do? 🙂

Ingredients

I am a bit of a frozen vegetable snob. You’ll never find store-bought frozen broccoli or onion in my freezer. But you will always find peas. Because they are good!

• Frozen peas – Cook from FROZEN, not thawed! Well, it’s fine if they are thawed but there is no need to.

  Baby vs regular – The recipe works for either. Baby peas (called petite peas in some countries) are slightly sweeter with a slightly softer skin. I am partial to these but won’t hesitate to use regular peas.

  Fresh – You could also put me to shame by making this recipe with freshly podded peas. 🙂

• Butter – For lovely buttery flavour. Substitute with other oil of choice – extra virgin olive oil is my next pick, coconut oil for a tropical / Indian vibe.

• Garlic – It just makes everything that much more delicious. Fresh please! Give the jarred stuff a miss – it’s sour and wet so you can’t sauté it properly and the flavour barely resembles the real deal.

• Salt and pepper – Seasoning. Peas need it!

How I cook frozen peas

To cook from frozen, just add the tiniest splash of water which helps steam-sauté them faster. The water evaporates by the time the peas are cooked.

1. Sauté garlic – Melt the butter then sauté the garlic until very light golden in medium heat, around 30 seconds.

2. Tip the frozen peas in with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon of water which creates a steamy environment to cook the peas a little faster. The water evaporates in a few minutes, leaving behind just tasty butter!

3. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, or until the peas are heated through. Frozen peas are cooked before freezing so they don’t need to be cooked!

4. Serve – Done and ready to serve! Pour into a bowl or put straight onto dinner plates.

   Delicious to eat as is – I challenge you to stop at one spoonful – but suggestions for dressing up are below!

Dress them up

For every day, buttered peas are terrific just as they are. The garlic and butter go a long way to make peas a whole lot more interesting!

But, if you’d like to step it up a notch or just feel like doing something different, here are some suggestions:

• Mint them – Toss through finely chopped fresh mint. Mint and peas is a classic! Add however much you want, to your taste.

• Lemon – Stir through lemon zest for beautiful lemon flavour, or juice for tang.

• Shower of parmesan – As with many things, a mound of freshly grated parmesan will turn this into a show-stopping side!

• Clarified / browned butter instead of ordinary butter – for even more intense buttery flavour.

• Spice it – Add some curry powder, cumin, coriander, or other spice of choice into the butter, for a touch of extra flavour.

• Crunch it – Finish with a big handful of store-bought crispy Asian Fried Shallots or pangrattato (from this recipe), for great texture!

But that’s enough from me. What about you? I know you’ve got a stack of other creative (easy!) ways to dress up a bowl of peas. Share, share! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

More sides

Life of Dozer

Snippet from today’s recipe video!