Dress Up Canned Peas By Cooking Them In A Buttery Sauce

There are a wealth of ingredients that shine brightly on their own, but there are plenty of others that are pretty lackluster when flying solo — like peas. Let's face it: canned peas are boring. They have an earthy, grass-like taste that doesn't carry any exceptional appeal. But when served with an attractive sauce, canned peas take on an enticing flavor that will have folks around the dinner table reaching for seconds.

One ingredient that will take canned peas to new heights like no other is butter. The rich, golden fat has an almost uncanny ability to lend serious depth of flavor to nearly anything it touches. When incorporated with peas, butter tames the moderate earthiness of the green legumes and accents their mild sweetness.

While you could simply sauté them in butter and call it a day, adding a few accompaniments to the sauce will result in fare worth coming back for. Slice some shallots and sauté them in the butter for a few minutes. Add the peas to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Pour in a bit of high-quality lemon juice to brighten up the sauce and cook it through for a few more minutes. To finish, sprinkle in some fresh dill and add salt and pepper to taste. In just a few minutes, your mundane canned peas will transform into a glistening, tangy side dish bursting with charm.

While a dill butter sauce may appeal to some folks, others aren't so keen on the uniquely flavored herb. If you are serving the dish to kiddos, it might be wise to just make a more humble dressing with shallots — or onions for a slightly different flavor — and the best butter you can buy from the store as a simple way to enhance your canned peas. Or, instead of tossing dill into the sauce, try some mint. The cool, refreshing taste of this herb will complement the natural sweetness in the peas and add a hint of spiciness to the light dressing. All the ingredients you would use for the butter dill sauce are assimilated in the same way — simply forgo the dill and sprinkle in some chopped mint at the end.

If your sauce starts to thin out too much as you cook the canned peas, pour in a bit of vegetable or chicken stock that hasn't been opened for too long to boost the volume (you may want to add some more fat so you don't lose that buttery flavor). However, it's vital to remember that canned goods might be overly salty if not rinsed before they are incorporated into a dish, and stock will increase the salinity. You wouldn't want to go through all the trouble of leveling up your canned peas in butter sauce to have the dish come out tasting like a salt lick.