Mind Your Mushy Peas and Qs

Mushy peas are a decidedly British side dish - a must with fish and chips. And it seems to be one of the green veg offered at most London food establishments. I had mine at the aptly named Mad Hatter Pub. Our waiter was a bit nutty and had carrot orange spiky hair and every time he approached the table you didn't know what was going to happen. The recipe that follows is courtesy of  Jamie Oliver, who I respect immensely for not only his take on British cuisine, but also for his campaign to get healthier food into American kids. He takes a short cut however and uses frozen peas, while traditional recipes call for marrow root peas (mmmm, don't they sound scrumptious?) that must be soaked overnight. Either way, it's like really tasty, gourmet baby food. All that I'm saying is, give mushy peas a chance.

Now, maybe I've been living under a rock (even I prefer on the rocks), but I was always under the (false) impression that "Mind your p's and q's" was all about good manners. Wrong. Imagine my surprise to find this common admonition (unlike most that derive from horse racing - "by a nose", "photo finish", "neck and neck") is actually an English drinking reference. And I quote: 'Mind your pints and quarts. This is suggested as deriving from the practice of chalking up a tally of drinks in English pubs (on the slate). Publicans had to make sure to mark up the quart drinks as distinct from the pint drinks.' You know, so after drinking like a lout, they knew how must your bill totaled. Brilliant, truly brilliant, and so much more useful than "mind the gap".

The Recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 pound (500 grams) frozen peas
2 large knobs butter (I have no idea how much this is, but it's my new favorite saying)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chopped onions, mint, and peas. Cover and leave for a few minutes to steam. Mash with a potato masher. You can do this with a food processor as well, just pulse it until smooth. Whether mashing or pulsing, when it's done add the butter and season very carefully, to taste.