Italian Pea Pottage Recipes

MEDIEVAL POTTAGE STEW

Steps:

• Peel and chop all vegetables
• Add carrots, parsnips, onions, and turnips to a large stew pot with about 1/4 cup veg broth
• Saute for 10 minutes or until softened
• Add mushrooms, leeks, cabbage, and beans and simmer for an additional 5 minutes
• Add broth, seasoning, and wine and stir well
• Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Stir in barley and oats and continue simmering, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes or until grains are cooked
• Stir in vinegar, remove bay leaf, adjust seasonings, and serve

POTAGE PARMENTIER (POTATO & LEEK SOUP) - JULIA CHILD

Steps:

• Simmer vegetables, water and salt together, partially covered, 40-50 minutes until vegetables are tender.
• Mash the vegetables in the soup with a fork, or puree in blender. Correct seasoning.
• Off heat and just before serving, stir in cream or butter by spoonfuls. Pour into a tureen or soup cups and decorate with the herbs.
• Good hot, cold or room temperature.
• Variations:.
• The following may be simmered with the potatoes and leeks at the start:.
• Sliced or diced carrots or turnips.
• Peeled, seeded or chopped tomatoes or strained, canned tomatoes.
• Half-cooked dried beans, peas, or lentils, including their cooking liquid.
• The following may be simmered for 10-15 minutes with the soup after it has been pureed:.
• Fresh or frozen diced cauliflower, cucumbers, broccoli, Lima beans, peas, string beans, okra or zucchini.
• Shredded lettuce, spinach, sorrel, or cabbage.
• Diced, cooked leftovers of any of the preceding vegetables.
• Tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and diced.

ITALIAN PEAS

Steps:

• Heat oil and butter in skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and garlic, cook about 5 minutes until starting to brown just slightly.
• Add peas, season with salt, pepper, a pinch of parsley and a pinch of Italian seasoning. Cover and cook until the peas are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how you like them done. I don't like mine mushy so I just cook them about 10 minutes.
• When you serve them, sprinkle the cheese over top.

PEASE POTTAGE

Steps:

• Place peas in a bowl and add water to cover by 3 inches.
• Leave overnight for cooking in the morning or soak all day to cook for dinner.
• Drain peas and discard water.
• Place peas and bacon in a large pot and add 8 cups fresh water.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to gently simmer for 2 hours or until peas are soft and easily mashed.
• Add water if necessary to keep from burning.
• Serve with pilot crackers (the modern equivalent of ship's biscuit) and beer for a true shipboard meal.

ITALIAN PEAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add frozen peas, and stir in stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook until the peas are tender, about 5 minutes.

ITALIAN PEA POTTAGE

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes, or until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, cut into small pieces, and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the stock, peas, bacon pieces, and 2 cups of water, and simmer for 1 hour, skimming away any impurities that rise to the top. Add the pepper, salt, and aniseed and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and duck, and serve immediately.
• Original recipe from The Accomplisht Cook, 1660:
• Boil green pease with some strong broth, and interlarded bacon cut into slices; the pease being boiled, put to them some chopped parsley, pepper, anniseed, and strain some of the pease to thicken the broth; give it a walm [warm it] and serve it on sippets, with boiled chickens, pigeons, kids, or lambs-heads, mutton, duck, mallard, or any poultry. Sometimes for variety you may thicken the broth with eggs.