When browsing through a hundred-year-old cookbook, I came across a recipe for Rice and Peas, and decided to give it a try. This recipe is easy to make, and was very tasty. I served it as a side dish, though it would also work well as a meatless entree.
Here’s the original recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Rice and Peas
1 cup rice
2 cups green peas
2 onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter or cooking oil
Prepare rice following the directions on the package.
In the meantime, cook the peas.
Also, heat the butter or oil in a skillet, then add the chopped onions and sauté until the onions are tender and translucent. Add the cooked rice and peas; gently stir.
That looks like a tasty and easy dish. Most people would have those ingredients on hand.
Exactly – I didn’t want to go shopping and was looking for a hundred-year-old recipe I could make using ingredients I already had in my kitchen. 🙂
And for todays taste maybe add in a bit of chopped pimiento?
Pimiento would be a nice addition. And, though it wasn’t included in the original recipe for Rice and Peas, it’s use would be typical of the times. I’ve seem many recipes in hundred-year-old cookbooks that call for pimiento.
Growing up my mother would have added cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup as the base. These days I use this combination to deglaze the roasting pan after I’ve broiled chicken. It’s a keeper!
The soup would add a nice flavor to this. Thanks for sharing the suggestion about deglazing the roasting pan.
My pleasure, Sheryl.
Old-timey recipes were either really simple or written for a cook who knew what she was doing. Yep home cooks were always female weren’t they?:) THis sounds simple and could be added to, to make it very tasty.
cheers
sherry
Cooks (and, as you noted, they were women) a hundred years ago often cooked 3 meals a day, most of the 365 days of the year. They appreciated recipes that were simple, easy, to make, and tasty.
All it needs is a little curry sauce!!
mmm . . . that sounds good.
Well, it couldn’t be much simpler! So many additions are possible with this one.
That’s the fun part of very basic recipes – we get to figure out how to dress them up.
In India, we call this ghee rice.
A slight change in the method, onion is sauted in ghee (clarified butter)along with spices like a small piece of cinnamon a star anise a teaspoon of cummin seeds and mustard.
Optional: Add one green chilly for flavor.
Fresh peas are then added and sauteed.
Now add rice and water, salt to taste and pressure cook.
We use the pressure cooker for a lot of similar one pot recipes.
Being a main dish, Ghee rice is Served along with curry (potato and peas)
Let there be 2 peas 😀
mmm. . . this sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing how you make it.