pea puree

one of our favourite meals involves peas and halibut.  kai and i devour it every. single. time.  stefan provides the recipe below... make it!

 

peas are not the most glamorous vegetables in the culinary world. they are usually a bland afterthought and many children shiver at the thought of eating them. there are ways to rescue them however and creating a supremely flavorful puree with thyme, mint, potato and bacon is one of them.
 
peas and halibut has become a staple in our home and it is always devoured with much gusto. the original recipe asks for halibut but any firm white fish should do nicely. the pea puree makes enough for three but the last time i made it, i doubled the quantities and we managed to eat it all without trouble.



the recipe comes from the book vancouver cooks 2

pea puree recipe

ingredients you will need:

1 cup of green peas. frozen peas work best, thaw them in warm water before using them. fresh peas are nice too but the shelling process is very time consuming and flavor wise there is little difference. a couple of fresh peas do very nicely as garnish though!

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons chicken or veggie stock

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

1 medium white onion, diced

1 sprig thyme

1 sprig mint

1 bay leaf

50 grams double smoked bacon, diced

2 tablespoons half/half cream

what to do:

melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan. add the onion and sweat for a few minutes. add the bacon, 1/2 cup of the peas, potato, chicken stock, thyme, mint and bay leaf. bring to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. remove thyme, mint and bay leaf, add the other 1/2 cup of peas and remaining butter, warm through for a few more minutes. puree in a food processor, pulsing until the desired consistency has been reached. you want it smooth but still with some texture of the peas. finish with the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

the nice thing is that you can make this in advance, then simply heat up the puree and cook the fish. the original recipe asks for a mixture of curry powder and salt to season the fish, this makes for a nice flavor and color on the fish.

stefan