Arakas Latheros Turns Frozen Peas Into a Hearty Greek Dinner

Arakas latheros turns a bag of frozen peas into a hearty Greek dinner, simmered with tomato, potato, dill and olive oil.

What is arakas latheros?

In Greek, arakas means peas, and latheros comes from ladi, the word for oil. So arakas latheros simply translates as “oiled peas”, a plain name for a plain, honest dish.

Arakas latheros belongs to the lathera, a family of vegetable stews that rely on olive oil rather than meat. According to Wikipedia’s entry on ladera, these dishes usually come with feta and bread, and they are a common fasting food.

Peas are often a side dish elsewhere. In Greece, however, a full plate of vegetables is a normal main course, and these oiled peas make a satisfying one.

Read more: Maroulosalata: The Simple Greek Lettuce Salad Ready in 15 Minutes

Our green bean and potato stew follows the same idea, so the two make a natural pair for meat-free weeknights.

Ingredients for four serves

This version comes from Diana Moutsopoulos, who shared it on Allrecipes. It holds 4.7 out of 5 from 17 ratings, and 13 of those ratings are five stars.

In her cook’s note, she explains that she uses far less olive oil than the traditional dish. Instead, she adds more tomato to make up for it. For the peas with tomato, you need:

• 45 ml (3 US tablespoons) olive oil
• 6 spring onions, chopped
• 1 potato, peeled and cut into wedges
• 450 g (a 16-ounce bag) frozen peas
• 1 US cup (about 240 ml) crushed tomatoes
• ½ US cup chopped fresh dill, the herb that lifts oiled peas
• salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 120 ml (½ US cup) water, only if needed

A US tablespoon holds 15 ml, while an Australian one holds 20 ml, so measure the oil in millilitres. Any standard 500 g bag of frozen peas also works well.

Each serve has about 245 calories, 9 g of protein and 8 g of fibre, according to Allrecipes.

How to cook the peas with tomato

Arakas latheros takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes on the stove. As a result, it is ready in under an hour.

1. First, warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Then add the spring onions and stir them for about 5 minutes, until soft but not brown.
3. Next, tip in the peas, tomatoes, potato and dill, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add a splash of water only if the tomatoes look too dry.
5. Stir well and bring the peas with tomato to the boil.
6. After that, lower the heat, partly cover the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Finally, check that the peas and potato are soft and the extra liquid has cooked away.

The finished arakas latheros should be thick and glossy, not soupy. If the potato is still firm, simply give the oiled peas a few more minutes.

Tips from home cooks

In the most helpful review, PKchef made her arakas latheros without tomatoes because of an allergy, using water instead. She still rated it five stars, and she called feta and crusty bread perfect additions.

Sara Fogdall Miller found that she did not need the extra water, because the frozen peas and tomatoes gave off plenty. She swapped in a yellow onion and two small unpeeled potatoes, and she found the dish was not overly oily.

Beth, by comparison, added paprika to the onions before following the arakas latheros method exactly. She warned that her potato took much longer than 30 minutes, so cut the wedges small if you are short on time.

A few cooks wanted more punch. John Hollwedel had no dill, so he cooked garlic with the onion until fragrant. Similarly, one reviewer browned the potatoes with the onions first.

TeaLover767 halved the recipe and used canned peas and dried dill. Even so, she said the oiled peas were good enough to make again.

Elizabeth Currier summed up the appeal of arakas latheros: “Surprisingly simple with few ingredients, but it’s a winner!”

What to serve with Greek peas

Serve arakas latheros warm, with a block of feta cheese and crusty bread for the sauce. Carol Manzo did exactly that and wrote: “So, so easy.”

For a bigger spread, add our garlic dip recipe and a plate of olives. Ladera are often eaten warm or at room temperature, too, so the peas with tomato suit a relaxed table.

If you like pulses and vegetables cooked this way, try the one-pan potato stew or read why lentils and beans stay so central to Greek kitchens.

The full arakas latheros recipe, with photos from home cooks, is on the original Allrecipes page.

Source: Allrecipes

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