There are various uses for a bag of frozen peas. One marathon-running friend swears by them for easing aches and pains and swollen joints. I wouldn't know, but I have found they can bring a little relief when applied to the forehead on the morning after another kind of marathon. On occasion, I have even been known to eat them. Much as Imight champion the superiority of fresh-picked peas over frosted ones, I have to admit that good frozen peas are superior to large, old, mealy "fresh" ones, which may have been sitting around in their pods on a greengrocer's shelf for far too long.
I freeze my own peas sometimes when I have a glut, to capture their gorgeous, just-picked sweetness. I'drather they were cryogenically suspended in their moment of glory than sat in my kitchen turning starchy and bland in the open air. But every pea has its place, and those that fail the "sweet as the moment the pod went pop" test still make outstanding soups and purées.
It's the same – in fact, it's even more the case – with broad beans: very, very fresh is unbeatable, and Itend to pick within an hour or two, or even 10 minutes or so, of cooking and eating them. But if they are "fresh" only in the sense of not having been frozen, pods from the grocer or farm shop are likely to be on the mealy side – there won't be enough natural sugar in them to create the bittersweet tease that is the defining charm of the broad bean. And often, broad beans in the pod have been left to grow too big, compounding the problem. Slipping them out of their skins after cooking helps. But, again, the remedy is in the recipe. These OTT, less than fresh broad beans make an outstanding hummus: just whizz or mash the cooked, skinned beans with a scrap of crushed garlic, a squeeze of lemon and a glug of your best olive oil. Or try this week's warm bean purée.
So, in the context of peas and broad beans, "freshly picked" really means picked by you and eaten within hours, which is pretty much synonymous with "home-grown". (Having said that, a few pioneering pick-your-own farms include peas and broad beans in their offering – go to pickyourownfarms.org.uk to see if there happens to be one near you.)
If you don't know whether it's worth getting as excited as I am about these emerald-green, silky, little globes, the best way to find out will always be to grow your own. Luckily it isn't too late, and it's definitely not too difficult, to sow some peas and broad beans right now. In fact, with the wet and windy spring we've had, planting this late in the season is no bad idea. Both peas and beans, since they grow upwards rather than outwards, need relatively little space. They will grow on most soils, but you don't even need a garden, because they do well in large, deep containers filled with a mix of soil and compost: roomy pots, half-barrels, old sinks or bath tubs, large deep planters or window boxes – all work. Follow instructions on the packets, but if growing in containers, sow them much more thickly, and in blocks rather than rows. Train peas up netting or chicken wire, or use traditional twiggy hazel sticks (bamboo is too smooth for them) pushed into the soil. Use string, suspended on canes, to support rows of broad beans once they reach more than two-foot high.
When it comes to pea varieties, try Kelvedon Wonder, a fast-cropper that's good for late sowing, or Saturn, a good, heavy-cropping all-rounder; Green Windsor is my favourite broad bean for flavour – or try The Sutton, a dwarf variety that doesn't need support and will do well in limited space or in a large pot.
You need to be flexible when using peas and beans. Work with what you've got. If you don't have enough peas for a dish (either because your crop is small, or because, like me, you've scoffed half of them raw while podding them), try a half-and-half approach – a puréed soup made with frozen peas, say, and finished off with a handful of whole, fresh, just-picked ones. Broad beans and peas mingle well together in many dishes, the sweetness of the peas emphasising the more complex flavour of the beans. Alternatively, freeze some of your crop in increments as you harvest, saving them up for one real humdinger of apea/bean feast.
Risoni with baby peas (or broad beans), bacon and garlic
This is a fantastic recipe for super-fresh homegrown baby peas or beans. Risoni pasta, also known as orzo, is alovely, rice-shaped type that I find particularly satisfying, especially when the ingredients it's served with are also small. Serves two.
150g risoni (or other small pasta)
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
150g baby peas and/or broad beans
1 tbsp rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil
3 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon (or pancetta), cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut intoslivers
Bring a pan of water to a boil for the pasta, add a good dose of salt and then the pasta. Cook as suggested on the pack, and throw in the peas and/or beans for the last two minutes of the cooking time.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for five minutes, stirring often, until crisp. Add the garlic for the last minute or so. Take the pan off the heat. Drain the pasta and peas, tip into the bacon pan and toss. Season to taste, and serve.
Garlicky pea/broadbean purée (V)
A great way to use older, larger fresh peas and beans. It also works well with standard frozen peas. Served hot, it's a delicious side dish to anything from griddled scallops to roast or barbecued chicken or pork. Or serve it at room temperature as adip-cum-hummus – it's delicious with a few salady, nibbly bits and pieces. Serves four to six.
500g peas and/or broad beans
25g butter
½ onion, peeled and sliced
3 large cloves garlic, peeled andsliced thin
1-2 tbsp double cream or crèmefraîche
Grated zest of ½ lemon and asqueeze of lemon juice
1 sprig mint, leaves picked and finely chopped (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground blackpepper
Bring a large pan of water to a boil, add the peas and/or beans, return to a simmer and cook until tender – about three minutes if using frozen peas, longer for large, fresh peas or beans. Drain, reserving the water.
Meanwhile, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat gently for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes more.
Transfer the peas or beans to a food processor and add the buttery onions and garlic, cream, lemon zest and juice, mint (if using) and a good seasoning. Blitz to a coarse purée. Add a little of the reserved cooking water to get a looser texture, but you may not need it. Taste and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed. Serve hot as a side dish, or at room temperature as a dip or spread.
Pea and/or broad bean and mint soup (V)
Peas and mint is a classic, hard-to-beat combo, but other herbs work well in a soup such as this, too. You can replace the mint with flat-leaf parsley, or a combination of parsley and lovage. If you use broad beans in the soup, it can be hard to get the skins to break down when puréeing, so press the soup through a sieve to get it nice and smooth. Serves four.
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive or rapeseed oil, plus extra for serving
20g butter
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
20g bunch mint
500g fresh peas and/or broad beans (and/or frozen)
1 litre vegetable stock
Sea salt and blackpepper
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and thyme, and sweat for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
Tear the leaves from the mint sprigs. Tie the stalks together with abit of string and add to the pan with the peas and/or beans and stock. Season, bring to a simmer and cook for five to 10 minutes, until the peas and/or beans are very tender. Set aside a few mint leaves and roughly chop the rest. Add the chopped mint to the soup and cook for a minute. Discard the bundle of stalks. Leave to cool slightly, then purée in a food processor, blender or with a stick blender – you may need to do this in batches. Return to the pan (pass it through a sieve first, if you like it super-smooth), add more salt and pepper, if needed, and heat through.
Ladle into warmed bowls and give each serving a trickle of oil. Chop or shred the remaining mint leaves, scatter these on top, and serve. t
