Garden Grown New Potatoes and Peas
My husband and I slather over the thought of New Potatoes and New Peas fresh from our garden. And, it is the season for this delicious side dish. We are getting a nice crop of English peas and we are stealing....yes, stealing, new potatoes from under the growing potatoes without their even knowing it.
English peas are the kind you shell. This dish is the reason my better half will not hear of planting snow peas.
I get enough from this patch to blanch and freeze a few bags for winter. I love them in salads, too, only defrosting them a little, then tossing them into my green salad.
When you cook really fresh new potatoes, never use a lid. Do not peel them. Just chunk them up as evenly as possible and gently boil them until slightly done. Drain them and put them on hold in a bowl. Using the same pan, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter. Make a roux using approx. 1 tablespoons of flour and whisk very fast. As soon as the rue forms, add a bit of milk, then a bit more all while whisking very fast. Eventually you will add about 1 cup of milk. Now add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt and some grinds of pepper. Add your freshly shelled peas and the cooked potatoes. Let this mixtures be on low heat while you finish up dinner. Watch and stir as needed.
This method is for two people. Double the above for a family. There are no exact amounts. You are really just making a white sauce, but I like mine a little bit thin and then there is extra to put over pork chops or chicken or hamburger steak.
Sometimes I fine chop onions and brown in the butter before I make the roux.
Sometimes I cook fresh new carrots along with the potatoes and add them to the dish. Or, maybe parsnips. You get the idea. All are garden fresh, of course, and on the baby side, not the huge side.
So, bon appetit, my friends. Hope your garden is producing wonderful veggies for delicious eating.
Happy Fourth Of July 2017
