How to feed your kids peas and lettuce - French Style Chicken with Bacon and Peas

Yes, seriously. Normally a salad garnish in a restaurant is eyed with disdain by my brood and a helping of peas on the plate of either Lola or Finn is usually pushed around for a little while before being tried (after much harassment from mum) and then ultimately cast aside. I can't complain too much. When I was their age, my way of getting rid of my helping of peas was to surreptitiously throw them, one by one, behind the room divider cum sideboard, only to be discovered one day when the room was being decorated and the sideboard was moved. I was, as they say, busted. However, these days, I adore peas and cannot really understand what made me dislike them so when I was young. Maybe your taste does change with age. Not necessarily a bad thing.

I have toyed with making something like this for a while and have various recipes which produce this dish, but I have never got round to making it. But a flick through and the realisation that I had all the ingredients (not massively surprising; there is nothing listed in the ingredients which would be difficult to find) and the fact that I am making do and clearing the fridge out in preparation for going on holiday was another reason not to put the making of this dish off any longer.  Plus, it's French style... Have I told you we're off to France? Seriously? I have? Oh well...

This may now be wearing a little thin.

Anyway, this dish is super easy, tasty and a certain winner because it has peas and bacon together, which, when paired are sooooo good. Maybe that's why Lola and Finn ate this. When it comes to savoury combinations, there are few pairings that are better in my opinion.

French Style Chicken with Bacon and Peas, adapted from the GoodFood website

Ingredients:

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad, generously, plus one other, depending on what you serve with it.

                   125g bacon lardons (or pancetta if you're so inclined)  

                                          8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs                                         

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 bunch spring onions, roughly chopped

300ml hot chicken stock

250g frozen peas

1 Little Gem lettuce, roughly shredded

2 tbsp crème fraîche

Method:

In a large frying pan, dry-fry the bacon over a medium heat for 3 mins until the fat is released and the bacon is golden. Transfer the bacon to a small bowl, leaving the fat in the pan.

Add the chicken and brown for 4 mins each side.

Push the chicken to one side of the pan and tip in the garlic and spring onions, cooking for about 30 seconds, just until the spring onion stalks are bright green.

Pour in the chicken stock, return the bacon to the pan, cover and simmer for 15 mins.

Increase heat under the pan. Tip the peas and lettuce into the sauce and cook for 4 mins, covered, until the peas are tender and the lettuce has just wilted. Check chicken is cooked through.

Stir in the crème fraîche just before serving.

I served this with some mashed potato, being that Summer in these parts resembles the month of November and therefore some serious stodge is required.