First of all I have to thank you for your incredible comments on the 5th anniversary post, more than once I had tears in my eyes when reading your messages, somehow I never could imagine that I would receive all these loving, encouraging and just fantastic comments from you but it proves that I am right: you are the best readers in the world! So Thank You so much for your generosity!
I am back to a more normal every day life, yesterday I came back here with all my things, well they arrived today in a big box and I by train but you get the idea, and I just felt that I had to sit down and make a list with ideas for food to blog about and I was surprised that so many ideas popped up, obviously this blog break has been good for me.
Green peas are one of my many favourites, I must confess that I prefer freshly shelled ones to dried split peas but I still like these as well, I have almost always a bag of them in my pantry but use them far too little so in order to make amends for this and to make you like them too in case you don’t already do, here you have a tasty dish to serve for lunch or maybe as a part of a bigger dinner. The fennel seeds and the bay leaves helps to bring out that sweetness you find in peas.
GREEN SPLIT PEAS WITH FENNEL SEEDS AND BAY LEAVES SERVED WITH BRAISED LEEK AND RICE BALLS
4 servings
400 ml/ 1,7 cup dried green split peas
2 tsp fennel seeds
4 bay leaves
2 leeks, the white parts
2 tblsp white wine, optional
400 ml / 1,7 cup rice
3-4 tblsp parmesan cheese, freshly grated. You can use other types of cheese too if you prefer
salt
extra-virgin olive oil
Cook the dried peas in salted water for about 40 minutes together with the fennel seeds and the bay leaves that you have torn into two or three pieces. When they are ready, drain any excess water and add 2-3 tblsp of olive oil to them.
Cook the rice and while all this cooking is going on, cut the leeks into thick slices that you slowly braise in some olive oil and wine until soft.
Mix rice with cheese and form balls with your hands, usually it helps of you rinse yours hands in water before you start handling the rise as this will keep the sticky rice off your hands.
Serve the peas with braised leeks and rice.
L
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I love peas and beans, dried or fresh and it is nice to have something lovely like this in the cold season when the fresh can’t be found. Glad you are back home, lovely Ilva. Missed you loads!
What an inspiring execution. It’s cute and the flavor combinations sound really interesting!
thank you Jamie!
sweet is what you are, thanks!
Hi Ilva……this is the friest time I have seen peas cooked this way……I find it interesting!
I cook a pea soup with ham and herbs……which too is delicious. But, I will cook the next dried peas your way……..especially the braised leeks sound wonderful.
And………when ever I do not want to make anykind of Knoedel………I resort to what I call Reiss Knoedel……the same way you make them……. Serving rice this way is fun and more atractive then just piling it onto the plate.
I like how you put the rice balls on top–cute!