This recipe is a possible addition to a Thanksgiving feast. I’ve been experimenting with braising peas with honey. I added some endive and ended up with a beautiful side dish! I’ve dabbled with braising before and the results were tangy and delicious Orange Juice Braised Beets. In that post there is a link to the most helpful guide for braising vegetables which is the very place that I learned all I know.
What you need:
- an endive
- 1 cup of green peas (I used frozen)
- 3 tablespoons of earth balance, smart balance, or butter
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a clove of shallot (Is that the right word?)
- 1/2 cup of vegetarian vegetable broth or broth of your choice
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- pepper
How to:
Roughly chop the garlic and shallot. Cut the endive in half. Melt the smart balance in a medium-sized pan. The skillet needs to have a lid!
Use medium heat to brown the endive for 2 minutes and then add the peas, garlic, and shallot. Continue browning for another 3 minutes.
The endive should be light brown on the bottom. The garlic and shallot should be a little browned too. Reduce the heat to low and add the broth, honey, and lemon juice. Cover the pan. You’re braising.
There isn’t much to do now. Allow the peas and endive to cook for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them and make sure the liquid hasn’t completely evaporated. Towards the end of the cooking time when the broth is looking reduced you can uncover the pan and turn the heat up to high if you want to allow the sugar in the honey to get a little glazey! Serves 2.
Additional Information:
The pepper is optional but I like a dash or two. Glazey is totally a word because I say so. Vegan readers have no fear because agave is a probable substitute for honey. If you’re endive is really big you might need to simmer everything a little longer and wait for it to get tender. Peas are awesome because they get tender without breaking down.
I ate the honey-glazed peas & endives with leftover Apple Tangerine Cranberry Sauce and paired it with some cabernet sauvignon. Note to reader: Do not mix wine with crutches. It’s dangerous!
Have you ever been on crutches?
