These macho peas were my go-to side at Nando’s for a long time. They were packed with flavour, and the herbs helped give the frozen peas a fresh taste.
This recipe takes inspiration from Nando’s, which is probably my favourite high-street restaurant chain. It’s relatively cheap compared to most restaurants, super quick service, and deliciously simple food utilising familiar flavours. At home, I like to create a takeaway Nando’s as I often find myself overspending and overeating when presented with a Nando’s menu.
Ingredients for Macho Peas
Frozen Peas – Finding fresh peas can be tricky unless you find yourself in a particular weeklong window in spring. Their quality deteriorates almost immediately after harvesting, resulting in their ubiquity with freezing. Fortunately, peas take very kindly to freezing, so their use should not be frowned upon but embraced. Without freezing, garden peas would be nowhere near as common as they are, especially alongside comforting winter recipes like a shepherd’s or cottage pie.
Mint & Parsley – Mint works exceptionally well with chilli and peas. Its slightly sweet flavour helps enhance the sweetness of the frozen peas. At the same time, its menthol-like cooling sensation helps counteract the burn from the chilli. Fresh parsley helps provide freshness alongside mint. Picking the leaves is essential when preparing the herbs, mainly mint, as the stalks can be woody.
Chilli – I’ve used a regular red chilli, deseeded and diced for this recipe. However, Nando’s website actually calls for red chilli flakes. As I have here, you can use whichever you prefer with the more subtle chilli selected for flavour rather than heat.
How to Make Macho Peas
Our first step in making macho peas is to cook the peas in boiling water. Next, we will melt the butter over medium heat and gently sauté the chilli to release its flavour into the fatty butter. This will result in a more even chilli taste throughout the final dish.
Macho Peas – Peas with Chilli & Mint
Ingredients
- 350 g Frozen Peas
- 1 Tbsp Salted Butter
- 1 Red Chilli Deseeded & Diced
- 10 g Fresh Parsley Leaves Chopped
- 10 g Fresh Mint Leaves, Chopped
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the peas for 3 minutes until tender and hot. Drain the peas.
- In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat and gently sauté the chilli.
- Add the peas to the pan, and toss with the butter and chilli.
- Toss the fresh chopped herbs through the peas and add salt to taste.
- Serve with peri-peri chicken.
