What to make with Bacon & Peas
Why they work together
Sweet, grassy peas need something salty and fatty to keep them from tasting one-note, and bacon's smoky, rendered fat does exactly that -- carrying the peas' sweetness into something closer to savory. The textures also complement each other, with bacon's crisp bite breaking up the soft, almost creamy pop of cooked peas.
How to combine them
Render the bacon first and use a spoonful of its fat to cook the peas briefly, rather than boiling them in water alone, so the fat and smoke work into the peas as they cook. Add the crisped bacon itself near the end, off direct heat, so it stays crunchy instead of going soft in the peas' residual moisture.
Classic dishes featuring both
American
- Creamy pea and bacon pasta salad — A cold pasta salad combining peas, crumbled bacon, and a creamy dressing.
- Southern field peas with bacon — Field peas simmered slowly with bacon until tender and infused with its smokiness.
Italian
- Risi e bisi with pancetta — A Venetian rice and pea dish traditionally built on rendered pancetta or bacon fat.
- Spring pea and bacon risotto — Creamy risotto finished with sweet peas and crisped bacon for salt and crunch.
French
- Petits pois à la française — Peas braised with lardons (bacon), onion, and lettuce in a classic French home-cooking preparation.
- Quiche aux lardons et petits pois — A savory egg custard tart studded with bacon lardons and sweet peas.
British & Irish
- Pea and bacon soup — A pureed or chunky soup of peas simmered with bacon for a smoky, savory base.
- Minted pea and bacon mash — Mashed peas with fresh mint, finished with crumbled crispy bacon on top.
Take it further
- Chilled pea and bacon soup — Puree peas with broth until smooth, chill thoroughly, and crumble crispy bacon on top just before serving -- a cold soup instead of a hot braised side.
- Pea and bacon frittata — Whisk peas and crumbled bacon into beaten eggs and bake in a skillet without a pastry crust, for a quicker egg dish than the classic quiche aux lardons.
- Blistered peas with crispy bacon — Blister whole peas in their pods in a hot, dry pan or under the broiler rather than braising them soft in bacon fat, for a charred, snappy texture instead of a soft one.
- Pea and bacon croquettes — Mash cooked peas with crumbled bacon and a binder, shape into small cakes, and pan-fry until crusted, instead of serving the pair as a mash or soup.
- Pea and bacon hand pies — Fold peas and crumbled bacon into individual pastry turnovers and bake, instead of baking one large open tart like the classic quiche.
Common additions
- Onion — Sauté in the bacon fat before adding peas for a sweeter, more savory base.
- Heavy Cream — Stir in for a creamier pea and bacon side dish or soup.
- Lemon — Add a squeeze at the end to brighten a rich bacon-and-pea dish.