Creamed Peas (or Peas & Carrots)

Frozen green peas

by Cat, Cot 2007 (photo, right, from Wikimedia commons)

I make this for Christmas Eve Dinner every year, but it’s good any time of year, too. It’s hard to find fresh peas in December, so I usually use Organic frozen peas if I didn’t grow any green peas in my garden (to freeze). If using frozen peas, do not thaw them before cooking.

You can also use fresh or frozen peas & carrots, or peas and pearl onions.

See also: 1. Sides & Condiments Menu; 2. Cat’s Christmas Menu & Preparation Schedule

Creamed Peas

I make this every year for Christmas Eve, but I’ve never written down the recipe, as I make it on the fly. Thus the amount of ingredients, below, are only approximate. If you like the peas more saucy, increase the amounts of butter, flour and milk/cream.

I provide two different ways to make the cream sauce. The first method is the one I use.

Makes 1 serving.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• ⅔ cup fresh or frozen green shell peas, frozen peas & carrots,, or frozen peas and pearl onions
• filtered water, enough just to cover the veggies in the saucepan
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp unbleached white flour
• ¾ – 1 cup whole milk, or mix of milk and cream (I use ½ cup milk and ¼ cup heavy cream)
• Unrefined sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• dash ground nutmeg, to taste
• Equipment:
• heavy-bottomed sauce pan
• glass jar
• fork or sauce whisk

Method:

1. Measure 1 Tbsp flour into jar; add ¾ cup milk. Mix a bit, then screw on lid and give it a good shake until all the flour is suspended in the milk. Set aside.
2. Place peas in saucepan and add a bit of water. Place over medium-high heat and bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for a few moments, until the peas are bright green but not tender.
3. Cream sauce (* see below for alternate method):
4. Drain off water; add 1 Tbsp butter to peas in saucepan, and allow it to melt over simmering heat. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Give jar another shake to re-suspend the flour, then add to saucepan, stirring with fork/whisk, while heating over medium heat until sauce thickens. If it gets too thick, add a bit more milk. If not thick enough, mix more flour with milk (perhaps ½ – 1 tsp flour per ¼ cup milk), and add a bit at a time to the sauce, until desired thickness is reached. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
6. * Alternate way to make the cream sauce:
7. After peas have reached bright green but not tender status, drain them and transfer them to a bowl while you make the sauce in the saucepan.
8. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and mix into butter while heating for about a minute. Whisk in ¾ cup of the milk/cream; continue whisking while heating, until sauce thickens, adding more milk to thin, if desired. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
9. Add peas to sauce and stir until coated. Adjust seasoning.

Testing

12/24/22: I’ve made this many times, using the alternate method to make the cream sauce (above), so I won’t over-cook the peas/carrots. But I now make sauces/gravies using Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour instead of wheat flour because it mixes with the liquids more easily. So tonight, I’ll use Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour; the equivalence of tapioca flour to white wheat flour is: 3:4.  My original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp flour, or 3/4 Tbsp tapioca flour. I will start with 1 tsp (1/3 Tbsp) tapioca, and add more as needed.

After draining off the water from mostly-cooked peas/carrots and transferring them to a bowl, I’ll add butter to melt, then whisk-in 1 tsp tapioca flour. Then whisk in the milk/cream; if not thick enough, whisk in more tapioca flour, a ½ tsp at a time until desired thickness. Then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg before stirring-in the reserved peas/carrots.

I decided not to test this for Christmas ’22; will test another time.

References:

• None