This is a simple but utterly delicious way to serve new potatoes and peas. It also makes a handful of peas go a long way.
Ingredients
—225g (8 oz) fresh peas 700g (1½ lb) small new potatoes Salt 2-3 Tbsp butter 3 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and cut into short lengths Freshly ground black pepper to taste Flaky sea salt for sprinkling Several sprigs of mint
Method
—1 Pod peas, setting aside half a dozen pods to add to the potatoes during cooking (see Recipe Notes).
2 Put potatoes in a steamer pot or basket and set this above a pot of boiling water. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and add a few empty pea pods. Cover pot with a lid and steam until potatoes are just tender, adding peas for the last 5 minutes. Lift pot of vegetables off the steamer, discard pea pods, then cover potatoes and peas with paper towels and leave for 3-4 minutes (this absorbs excess clinging water). Alternatively, cook potatoes in gently boiling salted water, adding pea pods in the beginning and the podded peas towards the end of cooking. Drain and cover as described.
3 Melt butter (as much as you dare!) in a medium frying pan (skillet) over a gentle heat and add the spring onions. Cook briefly until the spring onions just start to soften. Add potatoes and peas and cook for a few minutes until everything is imbued with the sweet spring onion butter flavour and is piping hot. Season with freshly ground black pepper and flaky sea salt. Add mint sprigs and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Adding a handful of empty pea pods to the steaming basket or cooking water adds extra flavour.
Fresh baby peas cook very quickly – 5 minutes should be sufficient – but if the peas you have are mature, blanch them first and add to the pan with the butter and spring onion.
No fresh peas? Yes, of course, you can use frozen baby peas. Put the frozen peas in a strainer and let the hot tap run over them to dissolve any ice crystals before plunging them into a saucepan of boiling salted water. Cook for several minutes, or according to packet instructions, drain, and add to pan with spring onions.
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