Naturally, I love Greek food. With so few ingredients and in so few steps, Greek cuisine manages to bring tons of flavor with even the simplest of foods. Just goes to show, good doesn’t have to be fancy. This dish has been a fave of mine since I was a little girl. My yiayia {Greek for grandma} made this for me all the time… I begged for it each and every time I saw her. I quickly learned how to make it myself… just some peas, dill, onion, salt and pepper go in, but lots of goodness comes out. It only take 30 mins, so it’s a good quick thing to make when in a hurry, or you can make it ahead of time and let it sit until you’re ready to eat. It’s accommodating like that. There are many variations of this dish. Some use tomatoes, some add potatoes. All are delicious, but there’s just something about this very basic combo that’s always made me a happy gal. And like many foods, it’s even better even the next day, so plan to make extra!
These peas go well as a side along nearly any dish… chicken, meat, and veggies mains. If you love it as much as I do, then it too can be the main and smother your entire plate. In that case, double this recipe. In fact, you may just want to double it anyway… like I said, it’s even better the next day; I devour the leftovers, hot or cold (yes, I’m a freak and enjoy cold peas and rice). 😉
To make this recipe work, you really must use fresh dill. The dried stuff simply won’t do. It’s a very different flavor, so fresh is crucial here… it’s not even worth trying with dry. Fresh dill’s delicious though, so if you end up with some extra dill, you can use it up easily in so many things… on beets, over salads, in soups, or sautéed with greens. Or, you may just want to make more of this simple little concoction here. 🙂
No need to make the fancy rice. Just mix that stuff up on a plate and dig in. I sometimes just like to make my rice in shapes for fun… it’s a dorky food blogger kinda thing 😉
serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 cups frozen peas (fresh work too, if available)
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
to finish it off…
1/2 tsp salt (start with 1/4 and then add more as desired)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
serve w/cooked rice, whatever kind you like (I use jasmine or basmati)
DIRECTIONS
(If serving with rice, begin cooking it now)
Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over medium heat
Chop onion up
Add the onion to the oil along with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
Saute for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and slightly translucent
Meanwhile, finely chop the dill (remove all stems first)
Add peas to the onions, along with 1/2 cup chopped dill
Lower the heat, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes
(A low to low-medium heat is good)
After 20 minutes or so, the peas should be cooked and flavors should be steeping!
To finish it all off, add about 1 tbsp more fresh dill, salt and pepper
(1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, depending on preference), and 1 tbsp olive oil
Stir it up and let it cook for about 5 more minutes, uncovered
That’s it for the peas…
If you’d like to do shapey-rice, too, just press it into a
little oiled ramekin or bowl of sorts after cooking it
Then turn it over onto the plate and voila… it’s that easy
Serve with a large scoopful or few of peas and enjoy!!
Hi there 🙂 If you want an even more authentic Greek recipe for peas with dill, instead of yellow onion, use chopped green spring onions, they’re perfect when dill is used in a recipe (as in Greek feta spinach pies etc.). Love your blog! 🙂
Sounds good! I’ve always made it like this ’cause it’s how I learned from my yiayia, but I’ll try that one day too! 🙂
Yummy dinner! I agree that fresh green onions are much tastier!