This quick and easy recipe for green peas with green onions and basil is a family favorite!
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In our house, this recipe is called “Astronaut Peas”. When my husband was a little boy he saw footage of astronauts at a dinner where peas were served as a side dish. He asked his parents if you had to eat peas if you were an astronaut. His mother, thinking this was the perfect way to get her son to finally eat peas, said yes. My husband said, “then I don’t want to be an astronaut”. Although that ploy backfired, my mother-in-law was determined to find a way to get my husband to eat peas and finally discovered a green peas recipe my husband would eat. This recipe for peas is flavored with green onions, and butter and naturally sweetened with basil.
My Sweet Basil finally decided to grow. One day it just decided to start shooting up. No sooner had I started enjoying pinching leaves and it began to flower. Such is the life of a gardener! This week, in between drying the basil leaves, I have been adding fresh basil to as many of our meals as I can. The natural sweetness of basil is the perfect compliment to peas and green onions.
How to Cook Peas
You can make this Green Peas Recipe with fresh peas or frozen peas.
The directions are very flexible. You can make this a frozen peas recipe or a fresh peas recipe depending on what you have available to you. If you have frozen peas you will need to thaw them before using them in the recipe. If you have fresh peas, you will need to shell the peas, rinse them, and then steam the fresh peas for 2 minutes. Then use them as called for in the recipe.
Obviously, it is much faster to make this dish when working with frozen peas, but if you are a gardener or pick up a large haul of fresh peas from the farmer’s market, you will appreciate that the subtle flavors or the green onions and basil allow your peas to be the star or this recipe.
To Quickly Thaw Frozen Peas:
Place the peas quickly in a colander, place the colander in the sink, and run hot water over them until they are mostly thawed. Allow the water to drain off and pat the peas dry.
To Steam Fresh Peas:
- Place peas in a steaming basket. Then place the basket in a pot of boiling water (do not let the water touch the peas).
- Steam for 2 minutes or until the peas are just barely tender.
You can use fresh herbs or dried herbs in this recipe.
1 teaspoon of dried herbs equals 3 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon) of fresh herbs. This sweet peas recipe is going to be delicious whether you use fresh herbs or dried, so choose from what you have available.
Green Peas Recipe with Green Onions and Basil
This quick and easy recipe for peas can be cooked and on the table in as little as 10 minutes. This recipe can be doubled or tripled for large crowds.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound fresh or frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons butter (or dairy-free butter substitute)
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil
Directions:
-
- Steam fresh peas or thaw frozen peas.
- While peas are steaming or thawing, melt the butter in a skillet with a lid.
- Add the green onions. Cook the green onions in the butter over medium heat until they are tender but not brown.
- Stir in the peas, parsley, and basil. Stir to combine the ingredients. Lower the heat to medium-low. Place the lid on the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the peas are heated through and tender.
Printable Recipe for Green Peas with Green Onions and Basil
Peas with Green Onions and Basil Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 pound fresh or frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil
Instructions
Directions:
- Steam fresh peas or thaw frozen peas.
- While peas are steaming or thawing, melt the butter in a skillet with a lid.
- Add the green onions. Cook the green onions in the butter over medium heat until they are tender but not brown.
- Stir in the peas, parsley, and basil. Stir to combine the ingredients. Lower the heat to medium-low. Place the lid on the skillet and cook for 5 minutes or until the peas are heated through and tender.
More Quick and Easy Vegetable Recipes:
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Anonymous says
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– Henry
Alison says
Sounds yummy! My favorite way to use basil is pesto of course! This sounds like a really good way to cook peas, I'll have to try it. Usually I just saute them for about 2 or 3 minutes in a little butter, add salt, pepper and then chopped mint just at the end! I never thought fresh shelled peas would taste so much better than frozen. I will always grow peas from now on!