Peas With Bacon And Lettuce

Extremely popular during the seventeenth century, sweet peas are still one of the jewels of Ile-de-France gardens. Those from Saint-Germain were once so famous that this village on the outskirts of Paris gave its name to many different recipes that featured peas. This dish is a flavorful combination of two different classics; petits pois a la bonne femme (prepared with chunks of bacon), and a la Francaise (with hearts of lettuce).

Type: Cheese, Eggs, Vegetables
Serves: 4 people

Recipe Ingredients

1/2 cup	99g / 3.5oz	Unsalted butter
3 4.1666666666667E+14/1.25E+15 lbs	1513g / 53oz	Fresh peas
1		Pearl or spring onions
1		Carrot
4		Bibb lettuce hearts
1 tablespoon	15ml	Sugar
		Salt
		Black pepper - freshly ground
1 section		Thyme
1/3 lb	151g / 5.3oz	Slab bacon

Recipe Instructions

Remove the butter from the refrigerator and allow it to soften slightly.

Shell the peas and place them in a Dutch oven.

Trim the green tops from the onions, leaving the bulb and about 1 inch of the stem. Peel and chop the carrot.

Rinse and dry the lettuce hearts. Cut them into large strips.

Add the onions, carrot, and lettuce to the pan with the peas. Sprinkle with the sugar and season with salt and pepper. Mix.

Cut the butter into small pieces and sprinkle evenly over peas. Mix with your hands to coat the peas and lettuce with the softened butter. Add thyme.

Cover the pan and place over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small lardons (strips of fat) about 1- by 1/4-inch, removing any rind. Fill a small saucepan with water, bring to a boil and blanch the bacon for about 1 minute. Drain.

When the peas have cooked, add the blanched bacon and toss to mix thoroughly. The lettuce leaves will have totally "melted," giving a velvety sweetness to the peas. This recipe serves 4.

Source:
BOCUSE'S REGIONAL FRENCH COOKING by Paul Bocuse

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