P is for Pak Choi with minted greens

"Who's teeth marks are these?" came a cry from the kitchen. Noone moved from their seats in front of the television.
Chris came in holding a piece of cheddar with a perfect dental imprint.
I was relieved to see they were too small to be mine. I don't make a habit of biting into food and putting it back into the fridge but the stress of trying to do too many things at once can lead to irrational behaviour.
The inquisition over the teeth marks continued.
"You might as well own up. These are clear enough to mould a set of false teeth." said Chris.
No one owned up. Eyes remained fixed on the X-Factor. Bertholt Brecht was right when he said, 'Food comes first and then morals.'
I went into the kitchen to make supper. The Green Pak Choi were waiting with their glossy green tresses. And it was the colour green that inspired our recipe that night; Pak Choi with minted greens. Our next vegetable will be P for Peas - Freddie's Freddie's worst vegetable nightmare. He had enjoyed the Pak Choi stir fry, giving it 8 out of 10. I hoped that by sneaking in a few peas it would be a gentle introduction. He liked the sweetness of the mint dressing on the Pak Choi, served with lamb chops. He consumed a couple of peas by accident. The rest were left lined up rejected on the side of the plate. But despite contamination by peas, the recipe earned another 8 out of 10. Wish me luck as we move on to...

 

Pak Choi with minted greens
Serves 4-6
200g green pak choi
200g peas (frozen or freshly podded)
100g broad beans, podded
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp dried chopped mint or 2 tbsp of freshly chopped mint
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar

Boil a pan of water. Cut about two centimeters off the bottom of the Pak Choi so the leaves fall part and place them in a steamer over a pan of boiling water for two minutes. (Or you can throw them in a big pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes.) Don’t overcook them. Drain them and place them in a serving dish. Steam or boil the peas and broad beans for 3 minutes. Drain them and add them to the Pak Choi. Make the dressing by mixing together the olive oil, sugar,mustard, mint and white wine vinegar. Pour over the greens so that they are well covered and serve.