Peas and Ham Recipe

In Spain main courses are often served without any vegetables.  This is because the first course is often a vegetable dish. 

This recipe for Peas and Bam, Guisantes con Jamon,  is a popular starter especially in a menu del dia in the Madrid area.  In Granada more popular is Runner Beans and Ham, Habas con Jamon, as these are a big vegetable in the area.

Although a simple dish it is very tasty and it best accompanied with a chunk of crusty bread.

You can vary the amounts of garlic and jamon serrano to get a slightly different flavour or even add some tomatoes.

Peas and Ham ingredients:

For 3-4 people

1 Large onion finely chopped
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
90g jamon Serrano diced
450g frozen peas
3 – 4 tbsps olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and then fry the jamon Serrano, onion and garlic together gently in the pan until the onion is soft which will take approximately 15 minutes.

Meanwhile add the frozen peas to a pan of boiling water and cook for a couple of minutes.

Drain the peas and add them to the cooked mix in the frying pan, add some freshly ground black pepper and cook for a further few minutes to allow the flavours to mix.

Serve with some fresh crusty bread.