Mushy peas

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Posted at 9:20AM, 31 December 2007 by Graham Holliday - Blogger

On paper it shouldn't work. Take one low rent vegetable, boil it down to within one inch of edibility, add some frighteningly luminous E numbers, stick the lot in a tin, call it a British icon and sell it in supermarkets and fish and chip shops the length and breadth of the country. But work it does. Marvellously.

Mushy peas are not sophisticated and they're of little interest on their own, but dollop a spoon load next to a piping hot, straight out of the deep fat fryer, golden fillet of haddock with chips and they set the plate alight.

I'm not alone in being mad for mushy peas. One blogger, an American living in England, agrees with me, even if she can't quite believe it herself, "There's something just so abominably, wonderfully wrong with them. Their colour should not appear outside of radioactive waste. They have no texture and a really weird flavour. But I love them. God help me, I'm going native."

I've never made mushy peas, it's not labour intensive but it does take time. Far easier to buy them ready made, all snug in a tin. But which brand? Who makes the world's best mushy peas? I have my favourites, but we're nothing if not adventurous on this blog, what are your favourites?

Comments

1-20 of 24 comments

Hinty

1 January 2008, 9:16PM
Hinty

I love mushy peas. There, I've said it... it's something I feel I should keep a secret though! My mum used to cook them with ....... (I don't think I should tell you this..) Roast chicken dinner, and they tasted fantastic. I used to be really embarrassed though if my friends came over for Sunday lunch and we had a big pot of mushy peas on the table! They didn't come out of a tin - they were dried in a packet and you had to soak them in water before using them. Happy memories - I haven't had mushy peas with roast chicken for about 20 years!!!! (I daren't serve this version of Sunday lunch to my family!!)

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A's recipes

2 January 2008, 1:26PM
A's recipes

I thought mine was the only family that had mushy peas with a roast dinner - it's a brilliant combination and I get very upset if we have a roast at mum and dad's that doesn't involve mushy peas! I've converted friends and my boyfriend too. For me it's got to be farrows marrowfat peas from a tin. http://stuffiamcooking.blogspot.com/

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stelios

2 January 2008, 2:28PM
stelios

In my fish and chip shop we only use marrowfat peas and NO COLOURING, they are made every morning fresh. Rule of thumb Ask the fish and chip shop operator if they are freshly cooked or bought in.

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yummy

2 January 2008, 5:19PM
yummy

Farrows marrowfat peas are great! I normally put a bit of butter in them too. I've had them with roast chicken dinners growing up as well! They worked wonders on my mum's overcooked chicken!

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Yummystuff

2 January 2008, 6:31PM
Yummystuff

Definately dried peas soaked overnight then boiled for ages, the best mushy peas ever. When I lived 'at home' (with my mum and dad), we often had mushy peas with our roast Sunday dinner and ALWAYS had them with our Christmas dinner! Wonderful.

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glorious

2 January 2008, 8:27PM
glorious

I live in Ireland and we always had mushy peas with the Sunday roast we used the dried variety and when they were ready to serve up Mam added just a pinch of sugar. I still love them

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Hinty

3 January 2008, 7:38PM
Hinty

Oh you lot have made me feel much better about my love of mushy peas. ..... and you know what, next time I cook roast chicken dinner I am going to serve it with a big pot of the little blighters!!!

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noodlepie

4 January 2008, 9:38AM
noodlepie

Much as I like Mushy peas, I've never really considered having them with anything other than fish and chips, but reading back through the comments I'm tempted to experiment more. Getting back to the main question though... I've never tried Farrows and will hunt them down. I tend to flit between Harry Ramsden's and Bachelor's chip shop style. Any more for any more?

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issie1414

4 January 2008, 4:42PM
issie1414

We love Mushy pea's in our family We have them with the roast on a Sunday, we love them with home made steak & kidney pie, but we always have a dish of sliced onions soaked in vinegar for several days on the table to put on to the top of the mushy peas, maybe its a Yorkshire Thing and always a dish of mint sauce - Ooooo - mouth watering ;o) Roll on Sunday, got mine steeping already.

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HAZFOOD

4 January 2008, 6:06PM
HAZFOOD

My mother was a fabulous cook termed " The best in England by my father" what a creep he was. However, she made a wonderful meat and potato pie which was always served with mushy peas (soaked with bi -carb and then rinsed and cooked ) everyone loved this meal and she made the pies regularly for all of us to serve to friends in our own homes for supper: we had to do our own peas though.

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Sudsyfly

5 January 2008, 3:21AM
Sudsyfly

I am drooling over the thought of eating mushy peas. I am a Brit married to a Texan in Houston .. had fish and chips tonight ...but no mushy peas !!! We always had them growing up ...good with sausages and fried onions too ...Ohhhh I miss a good sausage too ....best leave it at that... or I will be here all night.

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Jules

5 January 2008, 3:21PM
Jules

Can't beat a good plate of fish and chips or pie and chips with mushy peas, we live in France and on our visits to England bring back a few packets of Farrows for the cupboard.

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pauline

6 January 2008, 9:41PM
pauline

Mmm stop it i`m salivating just thinking about mushy peas ,they have to be home made,soaked overnight and served with the best faggots in the world form Ponty market,onion gravy and crusty bread Mmmmmm.

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Rachel

7 January 2008, 1:18PM
Rachel

My Father in Law owned a fish and Chip shop and like Stelios made his own mushy peas, they were wonderful. There is too much food snobbery around at the moment, we should celebrate the eccentricities of British food. Nigel Salter wrote an entire book about it.

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livetoeat kate

7 January 2008, 6:54PM
livetoeat kate

You can't have mushy peas without mint sauce - it's a crime!! A great little snack just on their own.

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squizita

10 January 2008, 11:38AM
squizita

Oh wow! Norwich Mushy Peas! I used to LOVE them - with a pie. That market also sells fantastic seafood and pork products. I always make mine from tinned or frozen marrowfats, as I don't like the uber greeny colour tinned have. E numbers aren't needed for the mushiness to work.

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crazyfox

10 January 2008, 1:08PM
crazyfox

I love Mushy Peas!. I always have Fish n Chips when i go to the Seaside and have Mushy Peas with them.

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jonincompoop

16 January 2008, 6:28PM
jonincompoop

WE allways had mushy peas at the fair at Ilkeston in Derbyshire, in a plastic cup with mint sauce on top, eaton with a plastic teaspoon... fantastic, a real worming snack. Or you could be posh, mix and gravey.. chips, mushey peas and gravey.. that realy takes me back in time. Pitty i live in Northamptonshire now!!

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Lou Lou B's

17 January 2008, 11:12AM
Lou Lou B's

I remember being dragged to church fetes as a child, the only good thing - pork pie with mushy peas and mint sauce! I live in sunny South Africa now and miss them badly, funnily people here are not convinced about the combination but then they've never even heard of mushy peas!

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Babs

6 March 2008, 12:13PM
Babs

I remember been dragged to domino 5's & 3's league by my boyfriend but we had wonderful hot pork pies with musy peas and mint sauce. yummy now my mouth's watering too!

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