About the Recipe

Some may find my preferring frozen peas to fresh heretical. While excitement abounds each spring as farmers’ market diehards welcome a new crop of green peas, the season is short and often not so sweet. Just-harvested peas are sublime, but once picked, sugar soon turns to starch and disappointment sets in. Although anti-intuitive, I’ve found that peas from the supermarket freezer aisle meet my expectations every time while those from the garden fall short unless cooked immediately after picking. I first tasted mushy peas, a British stand-by, many years ago at a pre-theater dinner at London's legendary Sheekey's. Since then I've made them for myself, my family, dinner parties and have taught the recipe often in my classes.

This recipe will delight family and friends alike, and even the most skeptically pea-adverse tend to cry out, “more peas, please.”

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
13-16 ounce bag frozen green peas, thawed
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream and more if needed for thinning
1-2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper or more of each to taste

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Add onion and cook till softened and beginning to color, about 5 minutes.
Add thawed peas and cream and cook about 5 minutes more or until piping hot.
Put the contents of the pan, the mint, the butter and salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times.

If you like your mushy peas a but runny add a bit more heavy cream or a few tablespoons of whole milk. Reheat if necessary. Serve right away.