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Minding your peas UK style
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Thursday, 26 January 2012
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 The French brought us escargot; the Italians, carbonara; the Chinese,
Peking duck; and the English? Well, in my opinion, they gave the world
the greatest culinary masterpiece ever: mushy peas.
A delightful summer’s evening treat, a side dish of mushy peas is the perfect companion to a fish and chip supper.
Mushy peas
Traditional mushy peas are prepared using marrowfat peas. These are a
little hard to come by in New Zealand and may only be available in cans.
Do try your local UK shop, or substitute with other varieties.
You’ll need:
225g of dried marrowfat peas
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Salt and pepper
To prepare:
Place peas in a large bowl
Add bicarbonate of soda
Pour over approximately 850ml of boiling water
Stir well to ensure bicarbonate has dissolved
Cover and refrigerate overnight
Drain peas and pour into a pot
Cover with cold water and bring to the boil
Reduce temperature and simmer until peas have softened (approximately 30 minutes)
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve
While traditionalists may prefer the recipe above, here’s another - an old family favourite from Blackpool, with a distinctly different twist:
You’ll need
X2 cups peas
X2 tbsp butter
Malt vinegar
Salt & pepper
To prepare:
Place peas in a pot and cover with cold water
Add a dash of vinegar
Bring to the boil
Reduce temperature and simmer until peas are soft
Once reduced, stir in butter
Add salt, pepper and more vinegar to taste
Simmer again until liquid has boiled away
Mash roughly using a potato masher or blend lightly
Season to taste and serve
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Grow your Own 
In Yorkshire they are traditionally eaten with pie (pork or steak) and many people like a dash of mint sauce with them
I buy my dried peas from the local organic health food store but you can use the tinned peas as a shortcut, heat and mash with butter - it's not the same though :)
There used to be a pie-cart outside the local cinema when I was growing up and a saucer of peas with a dash of vinegar or mint sauce was the perfect way to end a happy day. Yummy.