Have you ever heard of this classic French peas recipe or petits pois à la Française before? It is a savory vegetable side dish of braised butter lettuce, green peas and spring onions…
What?
Braised butter lettuce?
How in the world did you come up with that?
Well I didn’t invent that. It is actually my sweet husband who introduced me to these classic braised French peas with butter lettuce and spring onions a couple of years ago. And I have been a huge fan of this dish ever since the first time that he prepared it for me!
We call it ‘petits pois à la Française’ or French peas in French. And in Flemish ‘Franse erwtjes’. I am pretty sure that it is also by far my most favorite green pea recipe!
Do you like peas?
Peas
You would be surprised to know how many people actually don’t like them. I love their sweet flavor and soft texture. And the way they pop in your mouth when you bite in them.
It might seem pretty odd maybe, to braise lettuce like that but it really works!
I have come across several people throughout my year of food blogging who were absolutely adamant that cooking lettuce is a no no. Well that is totally personal of course.
The braised butter lettuce in this French peas side dish is definitely a plus, if you ask me.
Try it out and see for yourself if you like it!
Easy French Style Peas & Braised Butter Lettuce
I was kind of taken aback a bit when I heard of this French peas recipe for the first time, until I tasted this dish. But it definitely works! The trick here is to cook the butter lettuce as quickly as possible in order to keep it a little crunchy.
The spring onions are a personal touch.
Some recipes use fresh silverskin onions or yellow onions instead. But it is totally up to you and whatever type of onion you can lay your hands on. I just think that those spring onions look very savory in combination with the green peas and the lettuce.
Just keep it crunchy, guys!
Petits Pois à la Française
So here it is.
Classic French style peas or petits pois à la Française: I bet you will love this one to bits… Nigella Lawson has even cooked this dish before! And you should also give it a try if you like peas.
Do you love cooked lettuce?
Then you should also check out my grilled romaine lettuce with a vinaigrette dressing! And other cooked but crunchy lettuce side dish!
Enjoy!
Easy Braised Butter Lettuce & French Peas Recipe
Classic French peas or petits pois à la Française: braised lettuce, peas and spring onions...
- 5,5 oz frozen green peas (155 g)
- 10,5 oz butter lettuce (300 g)
- 5 fresh spring onions
- ½ small onion chopped
- 2 medium garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- pepper
- salt
Add the olive oil and a teaspoon of the butter to a large non-stick pan. Place it over medium heat until melted, then add the chopped onion and garlic.
Stir and cook for 3 minutes until the onion is a little soft. In the meantime clean the spring onions. Remove the outer layer, chop off the roots and upper toughest dark green parts. Cut the spring onions in half and rinse them.
Rinse and drain the butter lettuce. Shred it up roughly. Add the frozen peas to the pan. Season with a dash of pepper and salt to taste.
Stir the peas and cook them for 3 minutes until almost thawed. Then add the white parts of the spring onions.
Stir well and cook for 4 minutes. Then add the shredded lettuce and the remaining butter to the pan.
- Stir well again. Add 4 tablespoons of water. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables for another 3 minutes until they are tender. Then stir in the green parts of the spring onions.
Cover and cook for 3 more minutes. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste. Stir the vegetables one last time. Then transfer them to bowls and serve.
Easy Green Pea Salad with Crisp Zucchini
Did you enjoy that French peas recipes?
Well here is another bonus green pea salad for you then!
I am not really fond of the the words ‘skinny salad’ or skinny recipes but I guess that is not such a bad description for this next green pea salad!
Well first of all: I don’t like overcooked vegetables so I am always cautious while preparing them.
So here is the deal today then: green peas and zucchini. I decided to first stir fry the diced zucchini and in order to keep it crunchy I didn’t add any oil or butter.
Fresh Zucchini
Zucchini is quite soft already and it easily absorbs any other liquid which makes it mushy. So by dry roasting the zucchini until it’s browned a little, the moisture inside will partly disappear while it softens.
The rest of the ingredients is easy: green peas, crunchy croutons, feta cheese and a savory choice of fresh herbs.
I went for mint, parsley, oregano and lemon melissa.
Spot on.
You should also check out my peas and bacon salad by the way!
Enjoy!
Easy Green Pea Salad with Crisp Zucchini Recipe
This fresh green pea salad is so crispy and light!
- 5,5 oz frozen green peas (155 g)
- 3,5 oz fresh zucchini (100 g)
- a handful feta cheese
- 2 handfuls fresh herbs
- ⅓ tsp dried herbs
- 3 tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 slice stale white bread
- pepper
- salt
- Dice the zucchini up into small bits and transfer it to a large wok or casserole. Don’t add any oil. Then place the wok over high heat and stir regularly.
- Dry roast the zucchini for 4 minutes until it has browned a little. Then add the frozen green peas. Season with a pinch of pepper and salt.
- Stir the peas and zucchini well and let the peas thaw for 3 to 4 more minutes. Then take the pan off the heat. Chop up half of the fresh herbs and add it to the peas and zucchini together with the dried herbs.
- Stir again. Then let the salad cool down for 5 minutes. In the meantime dice the slice of bread up. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a small frying pan and gently brown the bread until you end up with golden croutons. Then crumble the feta on top of the green peas and zucchini. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Stir the salad again. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper or salt to taste if necessary. Then add the rest of the fresh herbs, stir again and transfer the salad to a clean serving bowl. Sprinkle with the croutons and serve.
