French Peas

Ingredients #

• 500g frozen peas, defrosted
• 2 italian white onions, diced – pea size
• 2 heads gem lettuce, washed and finely cut
• 50g diced ventreche bacon, rind removed
• 1 liter white chicken stock
• 100g frozen silverskin onions, defrosted
• 1/2 bunch finely chopped parsley
• Beurre manie (equal soft butter and kneaded flour) – versions can be made with ham/duck/chicken fat.

Instructions #

Prep your ingredients: Honestly the only bit that was new was squishing the butter and flour together my hand in a small bowl to make the beurre manie.

Stovetop: Render smoked bacon in a hot pan, allow the fat to be drawn out slowly turning down the heat. Add the diced onion and season with salt and pepper. Add some butter and allow to cook to soften for around 10 minutes. Add the peas and pearl onions and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the beurre manie and stir in.

Bake: Cover with a cartouche and bake in a 180c oven for 20-25 minutes.

Notes #

Storage: I kept these for a week then slowly warmed them in a pan and they were a huge hit: still tasted great.

Variations: Make the beurre manie with rice flour, potato starch, or tapioca flour for a gluten-free option.

Tips: Buy the pre-skinned little onions! Prepping an entire bag of tiny little onions is a test of patience. Frozen peas are just fine!