Pease Pottage Food

PEASE POTTAGE

Steps:

• Place peas in a bowl and add water to cover by 3 inches.
• Leave overnight for cooking in the morning or soak all day to cook for dinner.
• Drain peas and discard water.
• Place peas and bacon in a large pot and add 8 cups fresh water.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat down to gently simmer for 2 hours or until peas are soft and easily mashed.
• Add water if necessary to keep from burning.
• Serve with pilot crackers (the modern equivalent of ship's biscuit) and beer for a true shipboard meal.

PEASE PUDDING

Steps:

• Tip the peas into a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and carrot and fry over a low heat for 10-15 mins, or until soft and translucent but not brown.
• Drain the peas and tip into the saucepan with the bay leaf and thyme. Cover with about 1 litre cold water, bring to the boil and skim off any foam. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 2 hrs 30 mins, or until the peas are soft, adding more water as needed (you may need to add about 500ml). Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, then stir through the vinegar and butter. Season with sea salt and some black pepper, then serve with thick slices of roast ham.

ITALIAN PEA POTTAGE

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes, or until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan, cut into small pieces, and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the stock, peas, bacon pieces, and 2 cups of water, and simmer for 1 hour, skimming away any impurities that rise to the top. Add the pepper, salt, and aniseed and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and duck, and serve immediately.
• Original recipe from The Accomplisht Cook, 1660:
• Boil green pease with some strong broth, and interlarded bacon cut into slices; the pease being boiled, put to them some chopped parsley, pepper, anniseed, and strain some of the pease to thicken the broth; give it a walm [warm it] and serve it on sippets, with boiled chickens, pigeons, kids, or lambs-heads, mutton, duck, mallard, or any poultry. Sometimes for variety you may thicken the broth with eggs.