Like the rest of Britain I love to eat peas. Fresh peas have a lovely flavour, if you get the chance to eat them straight off the plant raw the flavour is intensified and sweeter than when cooked.

Each pod will contain between 4 and 10 peas and is made up of two halves. To get to the peas inside their pods, hold the pod between your pointy finger and thumb at the bottoom of pod. Press down on the seam and it should pop appart with a pop, open the pods and scoop out the peas, discard any that are damaged. The pods make great compost.

Once removed from the pods there is nothing to do to prepare your peas for eating unless you plan to cook fine dining. The round pea has an outer skin which is undetectable to most people. My life is to full to remove this skin for a fine dining experience, however if you a really dedicated the easiest way to remove the skin is to balnch the peas in boiling water for 2 mins than dunk them in ice water.

• Pea shoots - laterly there has been a move to eat the shoots of some vegeatables as a decorative side dish or addition to salad. Pea shoots are one of the tastiest. Add a few pea seeds to a tray lined with damp kitchen paper, put them in a warm dark place for a few days untill they start to sprout then keep them damp on a sunny window sill. As the shoots Grow snip them off with scissors to just above the bottom leaf node and your sprout will grow new tips. Yummy
• Raw - peas are crunchy, have a slightly nutty flavour and make a great addition to salads. Cooked and cooled peas also make a great addition to a green salad if you are not keen on the crunchy texture or struggle with eating raw vegetables. If you overcook peas they will loose their bright green colour and most of the flavour. the resulting greyish pea pile looks unappetising, not good if you are trying to impress.  
• Steam – bring the steamer up to temperature, add the peas and cook for 10 mins Boil – bring the water to boiling, add the peas and cook for 12 – 15 mins
• Bake – on their own, don’t go there as they will dry out and go hard, added to a casserole they will be fine but if they are cooked long and slowly they may loose that bright green colour, best to add them at the end of the cooking time if you can.
• Grill – as baking, don’t go there
• Fry – there are some fab fast fry recipes that incorporate peas. If you just want to fry them on their own add some butter and a little oil to the pan, melt on a high heat then turn the heat down, add the peas and cook slowly for 8-10 mins then season to taste
• Microwave - I add this cooking instruction as most of us eat frozen peas and they do reheat well from frozen via the Microwave, please note that microwave cooking times vary by model and therefore this is only a guide. The moisture content is such that you don't need to add water to cook the peas in. For a single portion put the peas in a microwavable container and cook for 2 mins on high. Check they are cooked through and give them a bit longer if necessary. For larger portions cook a little longer

Happy eating!

If you fancy being a little more adventurous with your peas have a go at one of our recipes. Like Us on our Facebook page to be notified of any new recipes that come through and our recipe of the week.

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Eat and enjoy!