ragu of carlin peas in a mixed vegetable and tomato base served with orichette pasta in a white bowl
Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

Carlin Pea Ragu

Carlin Pea Ragu is a modern British recipe (based on an Italian original) for a classic stew of mixed vegetables and carlin peas in a tomato base with marmite and parmesan cheese. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Carlin Pea Ragu.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

70 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesHerb RecipesVegetable RecipesBean RecipesBritish Recipes

(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')



This Italian-inspired recipe uses carlin peas as the star of the dish, with the addition of marmite to up the levels of umami. Orecchiette pasta is recommended as their shape is ideal to hold the carlin peas.

Ingredients:

250g dried carlin peas
4 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
200ml vegetable stock
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tsp Marmite
45g Parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to serve (or grated cheddar, to serve!)
1 tsp mixed Italian herbs (or dried rosemary/thyme)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
200g orecchiette or conchiglie pasta
A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped, to serve
Garlic of crusty bread, to serve (optional)

Method:

If you’re starting from dried carlin peas, soak them in a large bowl of water over night, then rinse and simmer them in plenty of water for about 40 to 45 minutes until tender. Drain the peas but reserve 150ml of the cooking liquid for this recipe.

Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot (this is a basic mirepoix) with a pinch of salt. Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until softened and lightly golden.

Stir in the tomato purée with a splash of water to combine. Cook for 2 minutes or until it darkens in colour. Now stir in the garlic and herbs and continue cooking for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the cooked carlin peas with their reserved bean stock, the chopped tomatoes and the Marmite. Stir to combine. Pour a splash of the vegetable stock into the tin of tomatoes and swill out to remove the residue. Add this to the pan along with the remainder of the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for roughly 8–10 minutes so the sauce reduces slightly and thickens.

In the meantime, bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions.

Once the ragu has thickened slightly, use the back of a spoon to gently mash some of the carlin peas. This creates a lovely thick, meaty, ragu texture.

Add the red wine vinegar, stir well, return to a simmer and cook for another 5–8 minutes until thick and saucy. Stir through the parmesan, and season with plenty of cracked black pepper and salt.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water, then add to the ragu and stir so that the pasta if fully coated in the sauce. Add a splash of the pasta water to loosen, if necessary.

Spoon into bowls, sprinkle fresh parsley, add a little drizzle of olive oil and top with extra parmesan then serve.