PEAS one of my favourite foods

I quite simply love peas

versatiliy in a small green skin, I can,'t think of a food that will not accept the humble pea as a garnish in one of it's numerous guises. Mushy peas with fish, smooth puree with steaks, plain and simple with butter and mint for lamb, not forgetting soups and sauces, I cannot think of any vegetable that is quite so capable.

here is one of the dishes we did recently

scallop, peas, bacon and whisky sour

The dish concept is as old as the hills but the ways in which we are able to revisit and re-invent it each and every time is usually down to the manipulation of this fantastic bastion of spherical clorophyl.

same dish not so arty

talking of classic combinations, reminds me of something a few weeks ago, hmmm onto the next post. until then a quick recipe for the pea gel sheets

to make 20 sheets

1. 
   
   500gm frozen peas
   
   
   
2. 
   
   300gm  cold water (plus water to boil the peas)
   
   
   
3. 
   
   25gm vegetable gel (sosa brand)
   
   
   
4. 
   
   salt
   
   
   

bring the water to the boil, add the peas and cook at a rapid boil for 5-6 minutes, strain the peas and refresh in iced water. blitz in a blender until smooth with the cold water, and pass through a fine sieve, the season to taste with salt only.

using an immersion blender, blend the gel into the cold liquid and then transfer to a pan and bring to the boil as quickly as possible. At 90 degrees C the gel hydrates and is ready to use, pour quickly onto a gastronorm tray and very quickly pour any residual pea liquor off into the pan, you only have seconds to do this as the gel sets almost immediately and can take a little practice.

once the gel has cooled it can be cut to your required size and stored in the fridge, separated by silicone sheets, for up to 3 days. place on plate as required and warm with a blowtorch or salamander as your recipe requires, it is heat resistant up to 82C

cutting the sheet

getting ready to store