Move over smashed avocado, there’s a new contender for the best brunch topper in town. Peas on toast is officially a thing, gaining popularity on platforms like TikTok and seeing a 133% increase in Google searches for “peas on toast” this month. Not only is it featured on the menus of various restaurants, but it’s also making appearances in recipe books by some of the UK’s most celebrated chefs.
London’s Fallow, a renowned award-winning restaurant, offers a no-avo eggs dish as part of their brunch menu. It includes crushed English peas, smoked curds, coriander, and walnut dukkah. Another local cafe, the Allotment Kitchen at Stepney City Farm, serves smashed peas on toast with feta and lemon. Despite the different variations, the key ingredient remains the same – the British pea.
Lucy Cuthbert, co-owner of the Allotment Kitchen, explains that their menu features “a lot of things on toast” and they strive to source produce from the city farm itself. She adds, “It’s just a stone’s throw from the cafe, and they grow delicious green peas when they’re in season.”
At Fallow, Chef Jack Croft chose to introduce the no-avo dish during the summer when English peas are at their peak. The restaurant places emphasis on sourcing the best ingredients from British growers, using a local supplier called Shrub that provides peas within a 25-mile radius of London.
Considering “food miles,” peas make sense as a brunch alternative to avocados. According to the British Growers Association, the UK is highly self-sufficient when it comes to pea production, with 700 pea-growers and 90% of pea supply coming from within the country. This means that even out of season, peas are an affordable vegetable with a small carbon footprint, contributing to the support of British farmers.
Hass avocados, on the other hand, are primarily grown in central and south America, with Mexico being the largest producer. This long journey to reach brunch tables, combined with reports of drug cartels and gangs getting involved in the avocado trade, hasn’t deterred their popularity over the past decade. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and chefs like Bill Granger have praised avocados, leading to their status as a lifestyle staple.
Chef Croft points out that avocados don’t have a strong flavor on their own. It’s the addition of lime and coriander in dishes like guacamole that contributes to their taste. He suggests trying uncooked peas, blended until they have a coarse texture, as a unique alternative. “Raw peas offer a truly distinctive taste, with grassy, herbal, and sweet profiles. They also stay fresh in the fridge for up to three days,” he adds.
Peas not only offer great value for money, which is particularly beneficial during the current food price inflation concerns, but they also freeze easily. While crushed peas may feel more sophisticated than the mushy peas from childhood, there’s a newfound appreciation for this common vegetable.
Top chef Tom Kerridge features smashed cooked peas on toast on his Instagram account, @fulltimemeals, which showcases easy and budget-friendly meals. Kerridge highlights the convenience of this dish, stating, “It’s great if you want something quick and easy and don’t feel like doing a lot of cooking. You probably have all the ingredients at home.” He suggests adding a touch of mint, whether fresh or in sauce form, to elevate the dish.
Smashed peas on toast with basil and nduja
Ingredients:
garlic clove, finely crushed 1
sourdough bread 4 slices
olive oil 2 tbsp
spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced 3
frozen peas 250g
lemon rind 1 tbsp
basil leaves, roughly chopped 8
chopped flat leaf parsley A small handful
Nduja sausage 100g
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
2. Spread the crushed garlic onto the sourdough slices, drizzle with a little olive oil, and bake in the oven for 5 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a pan, add the spring onions, and cook for about 1 minute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and lemon rind, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the peas are cooked. Remove from the heat.
4. Crush the peas slightly with a potato masher, then season with salt and pepper, and stir in the basil and half the chopped parsley.
5. Remove the toasts from the oven and spread the nduja sausage evenly over them.
6. Return the nduja toasts to the oven and bake for 3-4 minutes, being careful not to over-brown the nduja.
7. Remove from the oven, top the toasts with the pea and spring onion crush, and sprinkle over the remaining chopped parsley.
For more crushed pea recipes, visit Yes Peas.
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