In praise of the frozen pea…

Peas are the “denim of the freezer drawer”, says Debora Robertson in The Daily Telegraph: undemanding, reliable and good with pretty much everything. And they’re one of the foods we’re turning to most in lockdown: sales of frozen peas are up almost 70% on last year. We owe their existence to Clarence Birdseye, who, as a young entrepreneur in 1920s America, discovered that if you quickly blanch and chill peas before freezing, “they maintain their vivid green colour and sweetness”. All this has to be done within two and a half hours of picking, so that their sugars don’t start turning to starch – which means that unless you grow your own, frozen peas are usually going to be better than fresh. They’re lovely served boiled with butter and mint, but my favourite method is Put some finely sliced shallot (or the white parts of spring onions) in a pan with some shredded cos lettuce and a generous knob of butter. Cover, and gently sweat. After five minutes, add around 500g of peas with a good splash of water, season lightly, then cover and simmer for a further five minutes. Serve, if you like, with chopped parsley, chervil or mint. “It is very undemanding and enormously good.”

à la française.

If you’re struggling to get hold of fresh fish at the moment, don’t be afraid to delve into the supermarket’s freezer compartments, says Bob Granleese in The Guardian. Frozen fish is not the same as fresh – a “uniform frozen cod portion is never going to compare with a prime fillet” – but cooked well, it can still be delicious (do be sure to defrost it fully first). For Karan Gokani, of Hoppers in London, the key is to use frozen fish in “forgiving” contexts: in fish cakes, pies and curries, for example. And it “benefits from being paired with strong flavours”. Rick Toogood, founder of the Prawn on the Lawn restaurants, suggests making a cheat’s bouillabaisse from a bag of mixed frozen mussels, squid and prawns and