Friday, July 6, 2007

Smashed Peas

This is a family favorite -- delicious and very kid-friendly.

1 c. rice
2 T. butter
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
10 oz. package frozen peas
s & p
1/4 c. chicken stock
30 basil leaves (about 1 cup, loosely packed)
1/3 c. parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced

Prepare rice. Meanwhile, melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and stir frequently until quite soft but not brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add peas and salt & pepper, stir thoroughly with garlic and onion, then add broth. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes, not longer or the peas will be overdone. Remove from heat and transfer to food processor. Add basil (you can just do dried basil to taste if you don't have fresh). Mix for about 15 seconds, until peas are mashed and basil is chopped, but there should still be many whole peas. It should be lumpy. Combine thoroughly with rice and parmesan and serve immediately.

1 comment:

Megan said...

We LOVED this! I didn't use quite as much basil because I was afraid it would be too strong for my kids but they loved it. They kept passing the bowl back and forth to get themselves 4th and 5th helpings. Definitely a keeper and the best part was I got to use my basil from my herb garden.