English Green Peas and Celery
Last week we took a trip to London for our family summer vacation. We had a wonderful time! We enjoyed the rich culture/ tradition, parks, and, of course, the food! We had all the classic British fare including bangers and mash, Sunday roast, steak and kidney pies, traditional English breakfast, and fish & chips. It all tasted amazing!
From a tourist view, I noticed the green peas served as a side with a lot of English traditional dishes. These bright green peas not only added fabulous garnish, but they taste fresh and delicious.
Although I enjoyed the traditional English dishes, I was ready to get out of vacation mode and get back to healthy eating. I was still in a London kind of mood, so I wanted to make something that reminded us of our time there. I had some frozen English peas and celery, and I decided to make English peas with celery.
The sweetness of green peas complements the sharp flavor of the celery, making this dish delicious and tasteful. Green peas are an excellent addition to soup, salad, stews, or just steamed alone. They are a good source of vitamin A, C, niacin, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium. Not to mention the protein and fiber.
They are available year-round either fresh during the harvest session or frozen. Either way, they still keep their flavor. I always have a few bags of frozen peas in the freezer!
Celery also adds more nutrition to this dish without adding more calories. Celery is a good source of Vitamin A, folate, and K. It is very low in calories and carbohydrates, and it is fat and cholesterol-free. If you were looking for recipes to add celery into your diet, I highly recommend this one.
Ingredients:
One pound of celery stalk
One cup of red onion, diced small
Four cloves of garlic, minced
Half medium red bell pepper diced in little cubs
Two cups of frozen green peas
One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
One teaspoon of coriander
½ teaspoon of paprika
One teaspoon of fresh shredded ginger
½ teaspoon of turmeric
½ cup of water
Directions:
Clean the celery and cut into 3-inch-long pieces, like the picture below.
In a pot over medium heat, add one cup of diced red onion, minced garlic, and one tablespoon of the extra virgin oil. Let cook for 5 minutes and stir often.
Add the celery and ½ cup of water. Let cook for five more minutes until the celery turns bright green and the onion light pink.
Add 2 cups of frozen green peas, and all the spices (turmeric, salt, black pepper, paprika, coriander, fresh ginger).
Let cook for ten more minutes or until the peas and celery are tender.
Then, add the diced small cubes of red bell pepper.
Let cook for 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat.
This green peas and celery dish can be a meal by itself or an excellent side to
any meat. It is fresh, healthy, and delicious. The sweetness of the peas
makes this dish a good one to try with the kids!