One of the simplest green pea recipes. A pea side dish of buttered peas cooked with onions.

GREEN PEA RECIPES

Peas are a wonderful vegetable, aren't they?

I grew up eating lots of green peas, mostly in the form of this delicious Romanian Pea and Chicken Stew, a green pea recipe which my grandmother would cook at least once a month. It was one of my most requested dishes, sometimes she would ask what I would like to eat and there was quite a long period of time when my answer would always be “mazare = peas”.

PEA SIDE DISH

When I was really small we would only have that particular dish when peas were is season, there were no frozen peas or any other frozen products that one could buy during the communist times in Romania. So, I remember my grandmother sitting in the living room in her huge red armchair podding fresh peas for hours at a time.

I used to help her (at least before my puberty), it was kind of fun getting all those firm, green, jewel-like peas out of their pods. Sometimes I would put them directly into my mouth and I can still remember that raw, sweet, delicious taste...

After the fall of communism “mazare” became a more common affair, we would not only have them when in season, but quite often, the Romanian Pea and Chicken Stew made with canned peas instead of fresh peas. With fresh (or frozen peas nowadays) was always better, but canned peas were still OK when nothing else was available.

I am lucky that both my children like peas. It is not always easy with vegetables and children, especially when the vegetables are green, but thank God, peas were never really an issue. It must be the fact that they are sweeter than other vegetables, that makes up for their “revolting” green color. 🙂 🙂

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GREEN PEA RECIPE

There is not that much I have to say about the ingredients needed to make this pea side dish recipe. I prefer to use a small shallot, because I think its taste to be a little milder, but really, you don't have to stress and buy shallots just for this dish. I only use them myself when I happen to have them. Otherwise a very small onion would do just fine.
I like to use a saltier kind of butter as well, but then again, if all you have is unsalted butter it's fine, you might just want to add a tiny pinch more salt at the end of the cooking process.
I sometimes cook this green pea side dish with vegetable broth (from an organic instant cube). In this case, be more careful with the amount of salt you use, you will definitely need less, maybe nothing at all. Don't add any salt to the peas until you are finished with cooking them, taste them and only add more salt if absolutely necessary.

HOW TO MAKE BUTTERED PEAS?

This is one of the simplest, quickest, cheapest side dishes you could images. I mean, vegetable side dishes are never a big issue, but this green pea recipe is particularly easy and quick to make.

Chop a small shallot or onion in about 20 seconds and cook the whole thing in about 6 to 8 minutes. That's it! And the result is a wonderful, flavorful, healthy dish you will keep making again and again.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH GREEN PEA SIDE DISH?

Lots of things actually: chicken, fish, pork, beef, I feel anything goes. I serve them often enough with only a simple tomato rice or roast potatoes with dip, so in a completely vegetarian manner. Here are a few ideas: