Hearty and affordable pea porridge has long taken root in Russian cuisine. This food is versatile, great with meat, vegetables, fish, seafood, and can be used as a self-sufficient dish. Well-cooked raw materials turn into a steep, uniform puree. An experienced housewife knows how to cook pea porridge so that the peas boil and delight with their rich taste.
How to cook pea porridge: 10 useful tips
- Choose the right raw materials for porridge. Yellow peeled peas boil faster (without a surface film).
- Whole peas in the evening should be sorted out, separated from the debris, and then thoroughly rinsed in cool water. After washing, the liquid should become completely transparent!
- Soak the pots for five to ten hours. At the same time, the raw material will not only swell and, during cooking, will quickly reach a puree-like consistency - the dish will smell more pleasant.
- After washing, drain the water and pour boiling water over the peas. The liquid level should be twice the pea layer. Leave everything overnight.
- Before cooking, drain the old water and pour in fresh water at the rate of about 6 cups to 2 cups of peas. Add a teaspoon of vegetable oil.
- It is recommended to cook peas in a thick-walled saucepan. After boiling water over medium heat, you need to remove the foam, close the dishes with a lid and boil the porridge already over low heat (!) From 1 to 2 hours until the liquid is completely boiled away. From time to time, it is worth stirring the contents of the pan so that the peas are boiled evenly. If it becomes necessary to add water, you should only fill in hot water!
- You can salt the pea porridge only 30-40 minutes after the start of cooking, since the salt water will not allow the peas to boil properly. You can only do this at the very end.
- To boil split peas to a puree consistency, it is not necessary to soak them overnight. It is enough to rinse thoroughly, leave in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, pour boiling water over and close the dishes with a lid. After 10-15 minutes, drain the liquid again - and you can start boiling the peas.
- If you still come across soft, but not collapsed peas in the finished porridge, the dish can be pounded with a mortar or whipped in a blender, adding spices, vegetable oil, cream, and, if desired, boiled vegetables (onions, carrots, zucchini).
- Do you need to cook pea porridge so that the peas boil very quickly? Cook fresh or canned green peas for 20 minutes, then grind them in a mortar or blender.
Please note: some people add baking soda to the water to speed up the digestion of the peas. This ingredient makes it much easier for the cook, allowing the peas to quickly turn into mashed potatoes. However, experts warn: soda will destroy many nutrients contained in raw materials.
What peas contain:
- vitamins A, E, H, as well as group B;
- a variety of minerals. The product is especially rich in potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, calcium, magnesium.
What to serve peas with
Pea porridge can be served with meat goulash, cutlets, fried or baked fish, seafood. Or simply with onion, carrot, olive oil or lard with cracklings. A half-eaten dish will be an excellent filling for pies. Bon Appetit!
