Peas with Pancetta

Sometimes there's just no other vegetable (carb) except peas that will work. I really enjoy green peas, especially the young, small ones. But because they're a carb, we don't eat them much anymore except adding them onto a salad at a salad bar. This dish, though, makes me a convert every time I've prepared it. Probably it's the pancetta. I'm sure glad I was introduced to pancetta some years ago (it's Italian bacon, but not smoked as American bacon is). Trader Joe's carries it in paper-thin slices and in cube form. I keep one of those boxes of pancetta cubes in the freezer all the time now, and it's perfect for this dish.

The recipe came from Cooking Light, April, 2005. So that means it's low in fat and calories. But this recipe is high on flavor, I'll tell you.

Peas with Pancetta
Recipe: Cooking Light
Servings: 6
2 ounces pancetta -- chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 cup white onion -- diced
1 whole garlic clove -- minced
3 cups frozen peas -- petite
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Italian parsley -- minced
1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat cook the pancetta until it is crispy but not brown. Remove to a small bowl and set aside. Add the diced onions to the drippings in the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Continue to cook for about another minute. Do not let the garlic brown. Add the peas, chicken broth, sugar and salt. Simmer for about 5 minutes (or less) until the peas are just tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in the pancetta and chopped parsley and turn out into a heated bowl and serve.
Serving Ideas : Serve in a light colored bowl - the dish looks very pretty with the green and red-brown of the pancetta. If serving with lamb, add some fresh mint to the top. Would make a very nice holiday dinner vegetable, especially with lamb, pork or turkey.
Per Serving: 102 Calories; 3g Fat (23.5% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 7mg Cholesterol; 490mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

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Ina's Pesto Pea (Spinach) Salad

Sorry about the blurred photo. I enhanced it as much as possible in my photo program, but this is as good as it gets. We had the family for dinner to celebrate Father's Day, and I quickly snapped this and didn't check it before shutting off the camera. When you do a close-up with a digital camera, it's harder to keep perfectly still, so I try to be very conscious of that when I finally click the shutter.

But, that doesn't mean the salad isn't wonderful. I saw Ina Garten demonstrate this on her food network program, probably 2 years ago. It's from her book, Barefoot Contessa at Home. Maybe the peas and spinach seem like an unlikely combination, but it sure works. Over the years I've used pesto in pasta dishes, of course, and to dollop on the top of certain soups, and as a dip, but never would have considered it as a salad dressing. I had some homemade pesto in the refrigerator, so this was a simple dish to throw together. Trader Joe's carries a baby spinach, which is preferable here. Regular spinach is just too big for a salad - the pieces are too large without cutting them. I suppose you could do that, but the baby spinach just makes it so simple. I do tear off some of the larger stems, but most of them stay in the salad.

I find this salad goes so very well with a grilled dinner - chicken, steaks, pork chops, even fish. I hate to sound redundant, but this salad is SO simple. You just have to toast the pine nuts (I use a nonstick frying pan) and I caution you if you haven't done this before - watch the pan very very carefully or they will burn. Pine nuts contain a high percentage of oil, so they burn very rapidly. I keep pine nuts in the freezer at all times, so just remove what you need for a meal.

And, the other thing I do is add more Parmesan cheese (that's my addition to Ina's recipe). Often, I believe, when you buy ready-made pesto, it doesn't contain as much cheese as your own homemade variety, so I add some to the salad itself. It adds some color contrast too.

Pesto Pea (Spinach) Salad
Recipe: Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten
Servings : 4

2 cups frozen peas -- baby peas, if possible
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 1/2 cups spinach leaves -- baby spinach, if possible
4 tablespoons pesto sauce
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1. If you're in a hurry, run hot water over the peas; otherwise, defrost them in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan until golden brown. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly.
3. Place the spinach leaves in a salad bowl. Sprinkle with peas. Add pesto and toss. Sprinkle Parmesan and pine nuts on top and serve.

Serving Ideas : Is a GREAT addition to a barbecue dinner. The original recipe doesn't call for the Parmesan, but I just added a little bit on top and thought it was a nice addition NOTES : If you want to make Ina Garten's pesto for this: In a food processor combine 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup pine nuts and about 9 medium garlic cloves, peeled. Process for about 30 seconds. Add 5 cups of basil leaves, 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups good olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese and puree for about 30 more seconds, stopping once to scrape down the sides. Pour into a tall container and float a little olive oil on top and store in refrigerator. Makes about 2 cups - a lot more than you need for the salad recipe. This salad likes a generous amount of pesto - the tendency is to not do enough. However, there's a fine line - don't add too much, either. So, taste as you go.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 171 Calories; 10g Fat (52.3% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 6mg Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
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Cold Green Pea Soup

A short time warp to 1981. Dave and I were on our first trip to England. At a small pub and restaurant in Ilminster, Somerset, an older gentleman simply pulled up a chair as we were served our dinner. Friendly sort, he was. Said he enjoyed hearing Yanks talk. Shortly, he called over to the bartender and asked him to phone his wife to come join us, which she did. That began a friendship that has withstood the years. Jimmy (a retired RAF Wing Commander) had a hundred and one WW II war stories to tell. Pamela, who had also served in the WAAFs (Women's Auxiliary Air Force), the ground transport wing of the RAF, had an equal number of stories to tell, and among other things, she was a professional chef. To this day, we still discuss food whenever we talk. Either in person, or on the phone. Sadly, Jimmy passed away a few years ago. But we have visited them and now her many, many times over those years.

But the summer of 1990, when two of our children were nearly graduated from college, we took them to England and Ireland for a few weeks and included a visit to Jimmy & Pam. The weather was fair that day, the sun shone brightly, and we enjoyed a multi-course luncheon on the back lawn. It was glorious. It was magical. It was memorable. They were so happy to meet our children. We were so proud to show them off. They were so delighted it was a pretty day. We were thrilled to enjoy Pam's cooking again. Jimmy was in rare form, warbling on about his military past (mostly he ferried planes from Canada to England) to our kids, and Pamela had outdone herself with an elegant meal. We had a Pimm's, with fresh cucumber, mint and raspberries (pronounced raws-brees) on special twigs in each drink. We had a summer pud(ding), a very seasonal treat only available in mid-summer when berries are at their peak. Our daughter vividly remembers that summer pud to this day. A summer pudding is made in a large round bowl, with layers of soft de-crusted white bread, sugar and fresh berries. It sits for 24 hours while the berries give up their juice to soak into the bread, then it's unmolded onto a platter and served with whipped cream. And, naturally, we had some good English tea. The main dish was a large, cold poached salmon elegantly festooned with layered, thinly shaved cucumber slices to resemble fish scales. What was almost comical was that our daughter didn't eat fish. So poor Pamela insisted on returning to the kitchen to cook her an egg.

It's the soup that has become one of my regulars and it may be one of the very simplest recipes I make. When the weather turns hot (it will be in the mid-90's in Southern California today), I remember this soup, which is so refreshing. As long as you have the frozen peas (only the very best will do, the smaller the better), consommé or beef stock, the half-cream (that's half and half in British-speak), and the fresh mint from the garden you're in business. Allow to chill thoroughly before serving. You can make this with fat-free half and half, although most of those products contain some sugar or sweetener, which doesn't always taste as good as a natural dairy product in a savory soup. Sometimes I add a splash of cream sherry to the mixture too.

Cold Green Pea Soup
Servings: 6
1 pound frozen peas -- defrosted, or rinsed briefly in hot water
12 ounces canned consommé or beef broth
1 cup half and half
2 tablespoons fresh mint
3 tablespoons sour cream or créme fraiche

Place defrosted peas in a blender with the consomme and mint. Purée it until it is completely smooth then add the cream. Pour into a container and chill for several hours. Serve with a small dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle with additional mint or chopped chives. Taste for seasoning.

NOTES : This is very refreshing, either summer or winter, and oh, so easy. You can add a splash of cream sherry to the mixture if you like it.
Yield: 4 cups

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 134 Calories; 6g Fat (42.4% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 255mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1 1/2 Fat.
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