How to make a pea purée

Don’t used fresh peas for this pea purée – it’s a complete waste! There’s only one way to eat fresh peas, and that is lightly boiled, with a touch of salt, mint, and butter, in all their splendid glory.
Frozen peas, however, are not at all bad if you can’t get fresh, and they make a very good purée which goes well with plain, grilled white fish; or with Captain Haddock’s Beautiful Belgian Fishcakes; or with Golden, Breaded and Smoked Haddock.
You can experiment with different herbs. Instead of the mint, try basil, tarragon or coriander.
For a different version of pea purée using cream, go to Harrison Barraclough’s Ham Hock Terrine with Pea Purée and Chocolate Mint.
Recipe for pea purée
Serves about 4
Ingredients
- 300g/2 cups frozen peas
- 20 or so mint leaves
- 60 ml/¼cup thick yoghurt
- Smoked salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- Spanish sweet smoked paprika
Method
- Put the peas into a saucepan with a little olive oil to stop them sticking, and heat to defrost.
- Add the mint leaves and half the yoghurt and blitz with a stick blender.
- Season
- Serve, with the remainder of the yoghurt spooned over and a dusting of paprika.