Recipe: Green Peas with Tomato Sauce

Recipe Source: Mallos, Tess.  The Food of Morocco.  Murdoch Books, Millers Point, 2008 p. 80

This dish was supposed to be made with okra.  I really wanted it to be made with okra, since okra is one of my favorite vegetables.  Unfortunately no one else seems to share my fondness for the stuff, because I have to reserve it for when it's just the two of us and there's plenty of other food on the table.  Well, my father in law loves it, so I'll usually make it when he's eating with us, but that's about it.  Other people (like my husband, and my mother in law, and most of my friends) say, "Okra.  I hate okra.  It's slimy and icky." 

Anyhow, I usually have some frozen okra on hand, just for those little emergencies.  Unfortunately I'd used it all up.  When I made this, I was trying a new grocery store, and apparently this particular market doesn't feel that it is cost effective to stock items that exactly one person on the South Shore likes.  So, no okra, and no okra makes a sad me.  I could have driven around and tried to find some okra somewhere, but please, I have better things to do with my time.  So - what did I have on hand that I could use?  I thought about it, and thought about it some more, and finally remembered that I had a lot of green peas in the freezer that needed to get out of the freezer.  I used them. 

Otherwise, this dish was really incredibly simple.  I omitted the sugar, because if my grandmother caught me putting sugar in tomatoes she'd pinch me black and blue.  That's what bay leaves are for, and my father in law grows the best bay leaves.  Otherwise, I decreased the amount of oil and increased the amount of garlic.  That's it, and it was delicious. 

Green Peas with Tomato Sauce (Serves 4; approx. $1.10/serving)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 lb frozen green peas, thawed

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Equipment:

• Large saute pan

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
4. Add the peas to the pan with the tomatoes, bay leaves and lemon juice. 
5. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 3 - 4 minutes.
6. Add the cilantro.  Cook, covered, another 5 minutes. 
7. Serve.