Green Peas, Ancient Style

Take three quarts of young, tender green peas, shell them carefully, and keep them wrapped up in a wet cloth till wanted. Clean, drain, and tie up a lettuce head, put it in a saucepan with the peas, add a little salt, cover with a wineglassful of water, and add four ounces of butter. After cooking for fifteen minutes, remove the lettuce, and when ready to serve, thicken the peas with three tablespoonfuls of cream, diluted with the yolk of an egg, adding a very little white pepper, and a tablespoonful of powdered loaf sugar. Let all thicken together for five minutes, and serve at once in a vegetable dish.

Boiled Green Peas

Shell one peck of fresh green peas, wash them in water, put them into two quarts of boiling water with one tablespoonful of salt and boil fast until they are tender (they should take about ten minutes), then drain, season with salt, pepper and butter, and serve at once. If the peas are to be served with lamb a small bunch of green mint should be boiled with them. Parsley and young onions are sometimes boiled with green peas when their flavor is desired, and frequently a little sugar is added to sweeten them.

Green Peas, Bourgeoise

Select the required quantity of young peas, put them into a stewpan with butter, allowing eight ounces to every quart of peas; add also the washed heart of a large lettuce, a bunch of parsley, a few small onions and a little salt. Moisten with a little broth and cook slowly until tender. Stir in the beaten yolks of two eggs and one teaspoonful of sugar, but do not boil after the eggs are added. Turn the peas onto a hot dish, and serve.

Buttered Green Peas

Put some fresh green peas into a saucepan with a lump of butter, a little salt and a small quantity of water, cover and boil over a quick fire until tender. Knead one ounce of butter with some flour, put it in with the peas, stir them till thickened, then put-in four ounces of butter broken in little pieces, one-half teaspoonful of sugar and a small quantity of grated nutmeg. Turn the peas out onto a hot dish, garnish with sippets of fried bread, and serve.

Green Peas, English Style

Shell and wash two quarts or more of green peas, remove the small ones, put them in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, add a handful of salt and boil quickly without covering for fifteen minutes, removing the scum as it rises. When tender strain through a colander, return them to the saucepan and toss well, adding one and one-fourth ounce of fresh butter. Dish them in a vegetable dish, place another half ounce of butter in the center, and serve.

Green Peas, Peasant Style

Wash a few cabbages and long lettuces, a handful of parsley and three or four green onions, cut them into shreds and put them into a saucepan with three quarts of green peas and a piece of butter; cover the pan and let them cook over a very slow fire without any other moisture, stirring occasionally to prevent their burning. When well cooked season with pepper and salt, turn them onto a hot dish, and serve.

Puree Of Green Peas

Put some green peas in a saucepan with a very small quantity of water and boil them until tender, then pass the whole through a fine hair-sieve. Put the puree in a saucepan with a little broth and stir it over the fire until boiling. Move the saucepan to the side of the fire, put in one-half teaspoonful of sugar, a moderate-sized lump of butter, and salt to taste. Cut some slices of bread, shape them into small croutons and fry them in butter. When lightly browned drain the croutons, put them in a deep dish, and pour the puree over them. Serve it with a separate dish of boiled rice.

Stewed Green Peas With Bacon

Remove the rind from four ounces of streaky bacon, cut the bacon into small pieces, blanch them for a few minutes, then drain, put them in a saucepan with one ounce of butter and fry for five minutes; put a tablespoonful of flour in with the bacon, stir it over the fire for a few minutes, then add one quart of young green peas, one onion, and one pint of water. Bring it to a boil, cover the saucepan, move it to the side of the fire, and cook slowly for half an hour; take the onion out, skin the fat off the liquor, add salt and pepper to taste, turn all into a hot dish, and serve.

Stewed Green Peas With Spanish Sauce

Put some young peas in an earthenware pan with a small piece of butter and plenty of fresh water; rub them well with the hands and drain. Put them in a stewpan with a bunch of parsley and two or three green onions, cover close, and let them sweat. When nearly done pour in with the peas one and one-half teacupfuls of Spanish sauce, season with sugar and salt, skim off all the fat, and boil the sauce till reduced; thicken it with the beaten yolks of two eggs, and serve. This is a very delicious dish, and should be freely garnished with a border of small croutons of bread fried in bacon fat.