May 7, 2012

Petit pois and turning leaves


It seems like an age since my last post here.  Things have been hectic at The Shady Pine and there are a few projects on the go seemingly all at once!

One such project has been some landscaping which has been on the back burner for a long time.  The intention was to do some of this work over summer but it was such a wet summer that there never seemed to be more than a day when the heavens didn't open up.  So a few things got delayed.


As the drier autumn weather started to appear, Mr Shady Pine and I wanted to get some of this work out of the way before the long winter inevitably arrives.  And I am so glad that we waited.  We got to labour away outside in some glorious autumn sunshine with the bearest hint of crispness in the air.  Besides that, the changing scenery outside was something to behold.  The leaves had started turning into their varied hues of amber and gold and the colours were glorious in the afternoon sun.



One evening recently, we had a few friends over for dinner and we enjoyed some great laughs.   One of the side dishes for the main meal were these peas or petit pois.  I love their green vibrancy and the fact that this is a warm and easy side dish.  I'll talk obout the main feature of the meal in my next post but for now I hope you enjoy this little side dish.  This is a great accompaniment to all sorts of meat dishes and super easy to prepare.



Petit pois
Serves 6 as a side dish
Ingredients:
300g frozen baby peas
1 cos lettuce, shredded
1 leek; white part only, sliced
8 slices lean short cut bacon, sliced
25g good quality butter
1 Tbs olive oil
S&P
1.       Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan over medium heat.  Add the leek and bacon and cook for about 5 minutes until the leek is soft and the bacon is cooked.  Set aside.
2.       Boil the peas for about 3 minutes until just cooked.  Drain and set aside 2 Tbs of cooking water.
3.       Place the peas and reserved water in a bowl.  Add the leek and bacon mixture to the peas.
4.       To the peas add the lettuce, butter and S&P to taste.  Mix well until the butter is melted by the hot peas and all the ingredients are well coated.  Serve immediately.

13 comments:

Eileen said...

Lovely! This reminds me of a French preparation of peas with lettuce, in which the lettuce was actually cooked--maybe braised? I don't remember. But I think the mix with crisp lettuce sounds even better!

Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy said...

How gorgeous! I love a fresh side dish like this at a dinner party. You are very lucky to be amongst such beautiful colours at the moment!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

This is one of my favourite side dishes. Yours looks lovely and I was also noticing the lovely autumn leaves the other day :)

Hotly Spiced said...

It's been the same here in Sydney. We didn't do much in the garden during the summer months because the weather was always abysmal. Too much rain! But the autumn has been much better. In fact, today the weather has been better than anything we had this summer. Time to plant my herb garden. Love your green salad - wonderful combination of ingredients xx

yummychunklet said...

Ooh, that pea salad looks refreshing and delicious. Great idea for a salad!

OohLookBel said...

There's nothing like the bracing Autumn air and gardening outdoors. Hope the weather is holding up for you. I love baby peas, and your lovely green dish looks delightful.

Helen (Grab Your Fork) said...

I love peas but I always forget to put them in a warm salad. Definitely enjoying this late burst of summer warmth this week despite it being autumn!

Barbara said...

Autumn is a beautiful season. Lovely to discover your blog via Hotly Spiced. I love Peas cooked this way.

Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake said...

I feel particularly at home seeing those autumn foliage as I'm trying to collect them for my friend's wedding placement card project...been eyeing nice looking trees for a while now :P

Magnolia Verandah said...

I am a new visitor I popped across from Hotly Spiced. Your blog looks lovely as do your recipes. Would love to see more of your garden too.

Hotly Spiced said...

Hi Anna, I awarded you the Versatile Blogger award! http://hotlyspiced.com/2012/05/12/a-few-things/

muppy said...

yum, how good are baby peas :)

lisa is cooking said...

I love the shades of green in this dish! And, I can never resist the pop of baby peas.