Minty Creamed Peas with Onions and Mushrooms

  I've been looking for new side dishes for Easter Dinner. Minty creamed peas sound yummy, comforting, and different. And I'm ready for different. I found this recipe in a new cookbook I got at an Irish cooking seminar I attended. The cookbook is called "Food to Love" by Edward Hayden. I'm really enjoying reading through it and I'll be trying some more of his recipes in the weeks to come.

  Let me show you how I made this dish.

 I gathered the ingredients; frozen peas, mushrooms, onion, garlic, mint, cream, salt and pepper (I also used some olive oil for sauteing.)

 I chopped the onions in thin strips, but you could also dice them if you prefer. I chopped mini bella mushrooms, you could use thinly sliced white mushrooms. I also finely diced garlic.

  I stripped the mint leaves off the stems and then finely diced the mint leaves (I saved the stems...)

I sauteed the onions, mushrooms and garlic in a little olive oil. I didn't take a picture of it, but I added the mint stems and sauteed them along with the other vegetables to impart even more minty flavor. If you decide to do this you should either tie them with a string to make them easier to pull out, or count how many you put in so you will be sure to take all of them out.

When the vegetables were tender I added the frozen peas and sauteed them with the other vegetables for about 4 minutes.

About this time it looked like this...peas and other vegetables, but no sauce.

I added one cup of heavy cream and let it simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly.

After the peas and cream mixture had cooked for about 5 minutes I removed the mint stems and added the chopped mint leaves. I let the mixture cook for just another minute and then I added salt and pepper to taste (I put in about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper).

I served the lovely creamed peas with  pan fried whiting and a spring salad. I don't know how this looks to you, but to me it is a beautiful sight to behold!


This is the official recipe for Minty Creamed Peas with Onions and Mushrooms
(adapted from "Food to Love" by Edward Hayden)


1 pound frozen peas
1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
1/4 pound Mini Bella mushrooms, thinly sliced or chopped
olive oil for saute'
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons mint leaves, freshly chopped (save the stems)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (approx 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper)


In a large saucepan or dutch oven saute' the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil, until vegetables are soft and golden brown.
Add the frozen peas and mint stems to the softened vegetables and allow to cook gently for about 5 minutes.
Add the cream and cook until the peas have softened and the cream has thickened slightly.
Remove the mint stems and put the chopped mint leaves in.
Add salt and pepper to taste.


What was the taste tester's bottom line?
For this dish GoodMan and my mother joined me in taste testing. I told them this is a test for an Easter dinner side dish. Everyone agreed it is a dish for special occasions (heavy cream is not an everyday ingredient). It gave a special feeling to an ordinary fish dinner. The mint is not overpowering, but is an unexpected treat in an old fashioned side dish. 


The bottom line: This will be a part of my holiday menu plan. We may even plant some mint in our garden to have on hand for dishes like this.