Whenever I shop for green peas—whether frozen, canned or resting comfortably in their tiny pods—it conjures up memories of me sitting at the dinner table when I was a kid, contemplating how I was going to manage to swallow them without gagging. I would grow desperate as the time ticked by (we weren't allowed to leave the table without finishing everything on our plates) because I knew my window of opportunity to watch my favorite show after dinner was going to be over unless I found a way to "eat my vegetables."

Mixing peas in other foods like mashed potatoes helped to mask the flavor and the texture, which I wasn't too keen on. Yet, it wasn't until my grandmother came to live with us that I started my love affair with peas. She made a pasta dish with pancetta and cream sauce and then mixed the peas in. What a surprise, and how wonderful for me that the peas were already hidden in between swirls of linguine!

Try my Low-Fat Spaghetti Carbonara Pasta with Peas

As I wrapped my pasta around my fork, capturing the tiny green morsels coated with a delicate, light cream sauce, I couldn't wait to try it! The sweet taste of the peas as they would burst in your mouth along with the crunch from the pancetta and the creamy goodness from the sauce was simply amazing! No longer did I fear the pea. In fact, they made the dish.

My grandmother had other ways to prepare them, including my favorites, peas with onions, fresh tomatoes and prosciutto, fresh homemade pea soup made with bits of caramelized baked ham and tomato sauce with peas!


Discover more ideas for cooking with peas

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