Mushy Peas

Photograph of mushy peas on plate, with fish and chips.

Mushy peas are a British tradition to accompany battered fish and chips. The initial 1 kg of dried peas will produce about 2.6 kg of final product.

Overnight soaking and stirring on a stove is traditional, but using a pressure cooker (e.g. Instant Pot) is much faster and easier, and produces a more consistent result with no danger of scorching.

You might see other recipes that use frozen peas. They may very well produce something that tastes good, but it is not, and should not be called, mushy peas.

Hydration:

  1. In a large pot, soak overnight or longer:
    • 1000 g Dried Peas (Marrowfat peas are best, but ordinary dried green peas work too.)
    • 50 g Baking Soda.
  2. Drain and rinse to remove soda.

The hydrated peas should now be about twice their original weight.

Cooking:

Traditional Method: Stovetop:

  1. Cover peas with 1500 mL Water.
  2. Add 10 g Salt.
  3. Bring to a boil and simmer slowly, occasionally stirring, until peas are soft and almost all water is absorbed (30–40 minutes).

    The peas need to absorb another 700 mL of the water while the rest boils away. If cooked too quickly, they might dry out too soon, in which case simply add a little more water.

  4. Remove from heat.

Easier Method: Pressure Cooker:

  1. Put into the pot:
    • Drained peas.
    • 700 mL Water.
    • 10 g Salt.
  2. Put 250mL water into pot.
  3. Place container on rack into pot.
  4. Pressure cook for 10 minutes.
  5. Allow pressure to release naturally.

Finishing:

  1. Add 60 g Butter and bury it to allow it to melt.
  2. Add 250 mL Milk, or more, depending upon how soft you like it.
  3. Optionally add a 50mL Lemon Juice.
  4. Add White Pepper and Salt to taste.
  5. Stir to combine, ideally destroying half the peas and keeping half of them relatively intact.

Notes:

What isn't used immediately can be put into zip bags or other containers and frozen.

It will thicken as it cools, so you'll likely need to add more milk when reheating.