Green Pea Sauce Recipes

GREEN-PEA SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the thyme and 3 cups of chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the stock is thick and reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
• Add the peas, bring the stock back to a simmer, and cook until tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes.
• Remove the thyme. Working in small batches, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor. Pass the pureed pea mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl set over ice. Thin the sauce with chicken stock, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is just thicker than heavy cream. Stir it over ice until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Remove from the ice. Set aside until ready to use. Serve with sturgeon and spring vegetables (see above).

GREEN PEAS IN A CREAMY INDIAN-SPICES SAUCE

Steps:

• defrost frozen peas under warm water completely. drain.
• combine sugar, ground cumin, garam masala, salt, cayenne, and tomato paste. slow add 2 TB water, mixing as you go.
• add cream slowly, mix. add lemon juice, cilantro, and green chile. mix again and set this cream sauce aside.
• put oil in large frying pan and set over medium high heat. when it's hot, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. as soon as seeds begin to pop, add peas. Stir and fry peas for 30 seconds.
• add in cream sauce. cook on high heat for 1.5-2 minutes or until sauce has thickened, stirring gently as you do so.

GOLDEN EGGPLANT WITH GREEN PEA SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the chickpea flour, garam masala, fennel, cardamom, paprika, salt, yogurt, and lemon juice, and mix well. The mixture should have a pancake batter consistency. If it seems too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
• Begin to heat the oil over medium-high heat and dip the eggplant slices in the batter and then place into the hot oil. Fry the eggplant until golden brown on the first side and then carefully turn the slices and fry on the other side until the eggplant is tender and golden on both sides, about 7 minutes total. If they start to get too brown, turn the heat down to medium. Serve the eggplant with the Green Pea Sauce.
• To make Green Pea Sauce:
• Put the peas, cumin, ground coriander, salt, black pepper, yogurt, and water in a blender and puree until smooth. It should be a thick saucy consistency. Add a little more water if it seems too thick.
• Yield: Approximately 3 cups

ASPARAGUS, GREEN PEA, AND SCALLION SAUCE

Steps:

• Rinse the asparagus, snap off the tough bottom stub of each spear (and save; see the recipe that follows). Slice each spear crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces; if the spear is fatter than 1/2 inch, slice it lengthwise in half or quarters. You want the asparagus pieces to be approximately pea-size. Slice the spears to make 4 cupfuls.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the oil into the skillet, set over medium-high heat, and stir in the onions. After a minute or two, when the onions are gently sizzling, stir in the leek pieces and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Cook for a minute, drop the peperoncino into a hot spot to toast briefly, then stir and cook until the leeks are hot and starting to wilt, 3 minutes or so.
• Dump in the green peas and stir with the other vegetables. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and let the vegetables cook, sizzling gently. Shake the pan frequently, uncover it occasionally, and adjust the heat as needed to make sure the onions aren't in danger of burning.
• After 6 minutes or more, when the onions are pale gold and the peas are softening, stir in the asparagus pieces and the scallions, then the butter and another 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour in 1/3 cup of water, and stir well to moisten everything.
• Bring the sauce to a slow simmer and keep it cooking, very slowly, over low heat, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, and add spoonfuls of water to the sauce if it seems to be getting dry. The vegetables should become very soft but still retain their shape and identity the sauce as a whole should be moist and thick. When it's reached this stage, turn off the heat, and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the shredded mint leaves.
• Use right away or let it cool. The sauce can be refrigerated for several days. If frozen, the texture will change but the flavor will be fine it will keep for several weeks.
• Good With . . .
• Both dry and fresh pastas
• Gnocchi
• As a topping for polenta
• As a base for risotto
• Potato, Leek, and Bacon Ravioli (page 186)

GREEN PEA SAUCE FOR RAVIOLI AND PASTA (VEGAN)

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients into a pot together and bring to a boil.
• Cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes, until the peas have turned tender. Fresh peas won't take long; if you're using REALLY frozen ones like I did you might at least 6-7 minutes.
• Puree in a blender or food processor until totally smooth; it will be a thin sauce. Can be eaten right away or chilled for future use. Keeps for about a week, but freezes well.

CREAMED PEAS

Steps:

• Cook peas according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended; gradually add milk and sugar. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Drain peas; stir into the sauce and heat through.