side dish, vegan, vegetarian

English peas purée with mint and Bulgarian feta

Posted by Bogomil Balkansky on

This is a great spring dish – that I love to serve with lamb.

serves: 4        difficulty: easy      prep time: 20 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups shelled fresh shelled English peas
  • 2 medim shallots
  • 2 tsb olive oil for frying + 1/4 cup for the purée
  • 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (if you want to keep vegan / vegetarian)
  • 1 bunch of mint, stems removed
  • 3 tbs lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup crumbled Bulgarian feta cheese (obviously, the Greek, French or Danish varieties would not do!)

 

Preparation

You typically buy fresh English peas in the shells so you first need to shell them.

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Dice the shallots.

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Heat a 3-4 quart stock pot, and add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the shallots and sauté until they start turning gold.

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Add the English peas and continue sautéing for 3-4 min. The peas will turn a brighter green color.  Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, and cook until the peas a soft – about 20-30 min. If the stock evaporates, add more stock or water. When the peas are soft, remove from the heat and let cool.

When the peas are cool enough to handle, strain them and reserve the cooking liquid. Place the peas in a food processor, add 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, 1/4 cup olive oil, the mint leaves, lemon juice, and 1 tsp salt, and purée until smooth.
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While pureing you may have to periodically scrape the mixture off the walls of the food processor.

Serve topped with crumbled feta cheese.

 

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