Cheesey peas

The title of this recipe is one reason why I like Jamie's books. Cheesey peas, in the hands of a more pretentious food writer, would have become risotto of petits pois, or parmesan-infused peas, or some other serious-sounding title: cheesey peas is really not the name of a dish taking itself too seriously. On the other hand, cheesey peas sounds like something people might actually want to eat - particularly children - which is enough to take a recipe seriously enough to make it.

This recipe hardly requires effort: boil the peas as usual, return to pan saving a small amount of cooking water, add a generous handful of Parmesan and stir until each pea is coated with a little melted cheese. Add some of the cooking water to loosen the sauce a little; squeeze in some lemon juice and grind over pepper. Eat immediately before it clags together.


These peas are nice - you can taste the cheese and lemon, but they aren't overpowering, more like a gentle flavouring, which is what you want for a side-dish. These would definitely be great for the fussy eater brigade, given the pea's high-ranking position in the fussy eating league tables - but they are also good for those of us with taste buds as well.