Date Published: August 20th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 20th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: sides
Serves: 4 (makes one big bowl) | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 20 mins

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I’m going to be the first to admit that this is a pretty ugly dish and it was a challenge to photograph to make it look delicious 😂. After about 15 mins trying different angles on the small patio table outside, it was still a pile of green mush. Despite its appearance, these mashed peas are so yum and makes a great side dish for almost anything. It’s also a great way to use up that half opened bag of green peas that’s been sitting in the back of your freezer for the past year.

I’m not a huge fan of peas on their own. I find them kind of tasteless and boring. They always seems to be served the same way: boiled with salt and pepper as a filler on a plate. No one really loves eating them but we do anyway because it’s veg, and our mothers have engraved in our brains that we must have a serve of veg with every meal. Welp, I’ve taken those boring peas and put my own spin on it sautéed with onions, garlic and bacon then simmered in beef broth and blended (not mashed unlike the title suggests). Peas are actually quite sweet in their nature and when you blend it all up it enhances the sweetness and you end up with a kind of sweet pile of green mush with bits of salty and savoury bacon. Full disclaimer: this dish still tastes very much like peas so if you actually dislike the taste of peas then this recipe is not for you. Toby has been a lifelong hater of peas and although this isn’t his favourite dish, he did say this was the best peas he’s ever had (but he still doesn’t like peas). His father however loves peas and had multiple servings. I’ll take that as a double win!

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

• 4 cups frozen peas
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6 strips of “streaky bacon”, diced (or 3 slices of rasher’s bacon, diced)
  • Streaky bacon is the typical North American bacon that’s higher in fat and crisps up when cooked.
  • Rasher’s bacon is the typical Australian bacon that’s leaner and essentially like ham.
  • I prefer streaky bacon for this recipe because it gives it an extra crispy texture and the bacon flavour is more prominent however it’s not always easy to find in Australia (especially in a pandemic) so I’ve used rasher’s bacon for the photos.
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 beef stock cubes
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Defrost your peas by placing them in a bowl filled with room temperature water. Keep replacing the water every 15-20 mins until completely defrosted then drain. You can alternatively defrost them the night before.

Dissolve two beef stock cubes in 1 cup (250ml) of warm water. Set aside.

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Heat a skillet or pot on MEDIUM heat and sauté the garlic, onion and bacon together until the onions are tender and the bacon is browned (and crispy if using streaky bacon).

You shouldn’t need to add any oil because the fat from the bacon should melt and provide the oil needed, however if you’re using a leaner cut of bacon like rasher’s bacon, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.

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Remove half of the bacon/onion mixture from the pan and set aside. Add the defrosted peas and beef stock to the pan and stir. Let it come to a simmer then take the peas out and transfer it to a blender or food processor (leave excess liquid in the skillet). Pulse it a few times until you get a thick paste. Add a few spoonfuls of the liquid in the pan if your paste is too dry and difficult to pulse.

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Pour the contents back into the skillet and stir together with the liquid and add in the reserved bacon/onion mixture. Simmer the peas until the liquid has evaporated and you end up with a thick pasty consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Done!

Summarized Recipe: