Frozen fruits and vegetables are convenient, shelf-stable, and often cheaper than their fresh counterparts. But most chefs and foodies agree that fresh produce is superior overall. Every rule has an exception, and for celebrity chef and trusted culinary expert Bobby Flay, the frozen vegetable that is better frozen than fresh is peas.
In a cooking video chef Flay did in collaboration with Misfits Market on Instagram, he makes frozen peas the star of the show in a chilled green pea soup with green chile-pesto basil creama and crispy shallots. Flay starts the cooking video by saying, “90% of the time, I like frozen peas better than fresh peas” because “frozen peas are frozen at their very, very peak sweetness.” Peak sweetness translates to peak freshness, which also means peak nutrient content. While you might find fresh peas at the height of their taste and nutrition at your local farmers market, in the span of a day, they’ll already start losing their freshness, the sugars will convert into starches, and their nutrient content will rapidly degrade. To that effect, Flay says, “If they’re not utilized almost immediately, the starch kind of grows and they just get a little starchy,” which will result in a disappointing taste and texture.
Frozen peas are not only harvested at peak freshness, but they’re also processed and cooked to lock in key nutrients, color, flavor, and texture. Consequently, they’ll save you the trouble of hulling the peas from their shells and cooking them.
How to use frozen peas
Frozen peas are a versatile legume that will not only bring color and flavor to dishes, but they also pack around 8 grams of protein per cup. Since they’re already cooked, you can use them straight out of the bag. That said, they’ll take a few hours to thaw. So, you can let them sit in the fridge overnight or heat them over the stove. The best way to cook frozen peas isn’t boiling, but instead you should add them to a saute pan with butter or oil to heat them quickly. Sauteeing the peas with fat also helps infuse them with any additional seasonings you throw into the pan.
Frozen peas are an easy side dish to fry with onions, salt, and pepper. But, they’ll also bring a pop of color, protein, and sweetness to so many other dishes. Fried rice is one of the more popular dishes that commonly contains peas. You could also throw peas into saffron rice, Mexican rice, or this instant pot mushroom risotto. Chef Flay sautes them with aromatics and poblanos, simmers them in stock, and purees the mixture into a chilled pea soup. If you don’t have the time to make soup, thawed peas can still be the main ingredient in a quick and delicious dip to season with lemon peel, garlic, salt, and pepper. Their starchy, bean-like pulp will blend into a smooth spread with the help of your food processor.
