Author Notes
This is truly comforting, traditional British food. But just because it's comfort food, doesn't mean it has to be unhealthy: the chips are cooked in just 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and the mushy peas are much better (and nicer looking) than the green colored goo you get in your average British fish and chip shop.
Traditional mushy peas are made with marrowfat peas which have a nice starchy consistency, but they have a tendency to go grey when cooked, which means food coloring is needed to give them their bright green color. There's no need for anything like that here, these small spring peas keep their bright green color naturally because they're only lightly cooked.
One thing that some Americans might be baffled by is the malt vinegar on the fries/chips, just try it, it works!
And, of course, if you eat fish, this goes very well with some baked, or grilled fish (they're not called fish and chip shops for nothing!) - cooklynveg —cooklynveg
Test Kitchen Notes
Cooklynveg does her homeland proud with this recipe. The mashed peas are smooth and comforting, but the chunky whole peas give it texture and body. A dash of vinegar and mint livens everything up. The crispy potatoes are a great at-home substitute to frying. The recipe's two steps are perfectly timed so that your potatoes and peas are done at the same time. The only thing missing is a piece of battered fish. Though I'm not a Brit, my Canadian upbringing did include the Queen on our money, spelling flavor with a 'u' and fries with vinegar. I highly recommend a sprinkling of malt vinegar. Don't be afraid. You'll love it. - Stephanie —The Editors
Ingredients
- For the chips
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2
medium sized white potatoes, cut in to even sized slices
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2 teaspoons
extra virgin olive oil
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salt, pepper, dried oregano to season (rosemary and crushed chili also works well)
- For the mushy peas
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1 teaspoon
olive oil
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1
garlic clove, minced or chopped
-
1
yellow onion, chopped
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4
celery stalks, finely chopped
-
2 cups
frozen spring peas
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1/4 cup
good vegetable stock
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2 tablespoons
chopped, fresh mint
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salt, pepper, dash of malt vinegar to taste (you could use lemon juice instead)
Directions
-
pre-heat the oven to 550f (290c)
put the sliced potatoes in a bowl together with the olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs. Mix so each slice is coated with oil and seasoning.
Put the slices on a baking sheet and place in the middle shelf of the oven. Leave to cook for about 10 mins.
Check on the chips and flip them a bit.
-
Next, heat the olive oil in a medium sized pan, add the onion, celery and garlic and cook for about 3 - 4 mins.
Add the peas and the stock to the pan and cook over a high heat for about 3-4 mins - let the stock nearly all evaporate.
Next, add the mint, salt, pepper and vinegar and stir. Turn the heat off and mash the peas using a potato masher - make sure some of the peas retain their shape.
Take the chips out of the oven - season well with a bit of salt and vinegar, Serve with mushy peas on the side
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