Mushy Peas to Warm a Beer Drinker's Heart

Everyone who has ever sat in an English pub…..and by that I mean a REAL English pub, with hand pulled ales, dark wood everywhere, and real Victorian era mirrors, not some make believe abomination in a drive-by mall with faux wood beams and where all the beer is fizzy and cold enough to crack tooth enamel….

So anyway, anyone who has sat in an English pub begins to salivate at the mere sound of the words mushy peas, which is pronounced, by the way, mooshy peas.

I know my well-traveled readers are salivating now!  But, but for the times you’re home-bound, and in my undying quest to bring you sights, sounds, and especially food from mother England, I offer this simple, handy, mouthwatering recipe for the fabulously green concoction I just mentioned.

Now, just relax, pour yourself a pint of England’s finest…but, first a word about English beer.  No, it is not flat.  No, it is not warm.  But, rather than being infused with gaseous waste from a cylinder, English beer or REAL ale is a product of natural fermentation, meaning the amount of fizz is just what mother nature intended.

And as for the temperature, in England pubs, barrels of real beer are kept in the cellar, at a natural temperature of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ok, so you’ve poured your cool English brew.  Now what?  Another question for the curious, and by that I mean beer drinkers.  Where do peas come from?

In a few words, peas come from the deep dark time before recorded history.  Evidence points to domestication of Pisum Sativum sometime around 7800 B.C.  Now they’re served all over the world, including China and India. Yeah, but who decided to mooshy the peas?  No idea.  Now, take another sip and let’s get to the heart of good cooking.

Mushy peas (a traditional accompaniment to fish & chips, or meat pies.)

This recipe is part Jamie Oliver and part your author’s scintillatingly delicious interpretation.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 lb bag of frozen peas, cooked according to package directions (and quickly drained, but not dry)

About 10 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

½ medium red onion, finely diced

2 generous pats of unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste (do not go heavy on either)

Put the oil in a medium sized frying pan and bring to medium heat.  Add the peas, mint, and onion.  Stir once or twice and periodically after that.  Allow the mixture to steam until the onions are soft, about five minutes.

Put the pea mixture and butter in a food processor (or use a potato masher) and pulse until the peas are well blended, but not silky smooth.  See photo.

That’s it!  Fry your fish and chips (we call them French fries), or bring your meat pie out of the oven and add a big spoonful of mushy peas on the side.  Hey, folks, if you’ve been doing this correctly, it’s time for another pint as you listen to applause from your enthusiastic crowd. 

Cheers!

Note:  Hunting for a good recipe for meat pies?  Try my version of steak and ale pie:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4277603850536693845#editor/target=post;postID=2562771961949503113;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=1;src=postname

Steak and Ale Pie - Another English Gift

Meat pies are the staples of English pub cuisine.  Well, I guess you have to add fish & chips to make it a full menu.

The most common English meat pie, Shepherd’s Pie I’ve already written about, given you a recipe, and done every bloody thing I can do for you besides strolling into your kitchen and slaving over your stove.

http://stroudallover.blogspot.de/2012/07/english-cuisine-is-underrated-shepards.html

So, have you plucked up some courage and made that one yet?  You have?  Well, I take back all I said and Bravo! for you. Still basking in the glow of success and well wishes?  I thought so.

Now I’ve got another savory treat and one I often lust for, especially when I’m nesting in an English pub, with a pint of Real Ale in hand.

Steak and Ale Pie, or steak and ale pudding, if you prefer, is a rich concoction that’ll make you put down that pint of ale and unsheathe your trusty spoon.  For fighter pilots salivating over this, just remember I said ‘trusty spoon’ not ‘rusty spoon.’

Onward…I have to give a nod to The Hairy Bikers, from Lovefood.  I used their recipe, but not exactly.  Do you ever follow a recipe without making some twists and turns?  I don’t.  Can’t be helped.  You’re out of this, or can’t find that, or just think your way might better satisfy the hungry masses.

In this case, my son and I concocted and cooked together.  And, I don’t mean I just asked him to stir now and then.  Nope.  We truly cooked this dish together.  Just wanted to get that straight in case you think I easily step aside to reward somebody else with the credit. When it comes to cooking, relatives get no special breaks. He cooked.

So, now that I’ve wasted time with nods and kudos here and there, let’s get to the heart of a dish that will thrill and delight even the pickiest eaters, with the most ungrateful attitudes.  You know of whom I speak.  Our so-called loved ones.

Steak and Ale Pie  (start early – taking 2 hours to cook, not counting another hour or two of prep and pre-cooking)

Puff Pastry, I used a package of Pepperidge Farms.   Very good and puff pastry is a bitch to make.

5 Tablespoons sunflower oil

8 oz bacon, chopped or cut into thin strips

2 Onions, diced

5 Cloves garlic, diced

2 lbs of rump roast, fat removed and cut into 1 inch cubes (2 lbs after fat removal. A little more meat won’t hurt.)

A quart of ale. (I used a dark, German variety)

A pint of beef stock. (I used two heaping tablespoons of Bovril English beef extract, dissolved in a pint of warm water.)  For my money, Bovril is the richest of beef extracts and you want this beef stock to be almost black with richness.

1 Heaping Tablespoon tomato paste

4 Sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped from the stalks

3 Heaping Tablespoons cornstarch, blended with enough cold water to make it very creamy

½ Pound mushrooms, quartered

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Egg, scrambled (for painting the crust before baking)

Salt and Pepper to taste….when it tastes almost right, add a little more pepper.

We used three cooking pots:  A 12 inch cast iron skillet, a 12 inch round enamel casserole pan with a lid, an 8 by 13 inch glass-oven-proof casserole dish.

1.     Heat one tablespoon of oil in the skillet, then add the bacon.  Before the bacon starts to crisp, add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are golden.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon-onion-garlic mixture to the 12 inch round casserole pan.

2.     Heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

3.     Cook the steak in the skillet (small batches work best) until well browned. Add oil as necessary and transferred each batch of cooked meat to the round casserole pan.

4.     Deglaze the skillet with half the ale, scraping up the bits from the bottom.  Pour this over the beef/onion/bacon in the round casserole pan.

5.     Add the remaining ale, tomato paste, stock, and herbs to the casserole pan. Return to the stovetop and bring everything to a boil.  Put on the lid and slide it in the pre-heated oven for an hour and a half.

6.     Remove the casserole pan from the oven, put it on the stovetop, add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened.  Set it aside to cool a bit.

7.     Turn the oven up to 400ºF (200ºC)

8.     Heat 2 Tablespoons of butter in the skillet and add the mushrooms.  Cook until golden. Add them to the meat mixture.

9.     Pour the meat mixture into the oven-proof-glass casserole dish.

10.  Roll out the puff pastry.

11.  Paint the edges of the glass casserole dish with egg (so that the pastry topping sticks to the edges of the dish).  Stretch the pastry over the meat mixture and use a knife to poke holes in it. (this allows steam to escape)

12.  Paint the pastry topping with the remaining egg and pop the casserole dish in the oven for another 30-35 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and lightly brown.

If you’ve done things right, this pie will be so thick and rich that conversation will cease and in no time you’ll have some Olivers, bowls in hand, pleading pitifully, ”Please sir, may I have some more?”

I left out the steps about keeping the ale flowing while the Pie cooks.  A big red wine also works well. Your hungry guests may get testy if they’re left with time on their hands and beer on their minds.

You might consider putting out some Stilton and crackers, or perhaps some mild Gorgonzola. But, not too much.  This meal is filling by itself.