Green Pea Salad

Moss's was an old steakhouse on the downtown strip of my hometown in Elyria, Ohio. Elyria, Ohio was never and is still not a mecca of fine dining. In fact, when I was a kid we had the four basic fast food chains: McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut. We had the neighborhood Friendly's, which me and my girlfriends wore out on a regular basis. We had two dining establishments in town and they were both steakhouses. One steakhouse was family-owned and the other was a chain restaurant. Back in the day, everyone use to go downtown to Moss's, because it was family-owned unlike that steakhouse out by the mall. I'm sure Moss's served up some wonderful steaks, but all I remember was their pea salad. Gosh was that stuff good!

As soon as you would take your seat at Moss's, the waitress would bring out a basket of soft bread and a jar of pea salad. Moss's pea salad was a mixture of peas, mayo, and shredded cheddar cheese. The idea was to take a scoop of the pea salad and spread it on the soft bread. It may sound strange at first, but it really is delicious. That darn pea salad was my entire reason for going to Moss's.

Imagine my surprise when I received my recent issue of Cooking with Paula Deen and there was a recipe for Pea Salad. I was even more surprised to find that Paula had actually lightened up the recipe. Yeah Paula!

Green Pea Salad
Adapted from the May Issue of Cooking with Paula Deen
Makes 4 servings
2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed (I used used frozen)
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
3 strips cooked and crumbled turkey bacon (I used regular bacon)
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayo
1 tablespoon chopped shallot
2 teaspoons rice win vinegar
In a large bowl, combine peas, egg. bacon, bell pepper, mayo, shallot, and vinegar. Toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Notes/Results: This is a great springtime or even summertime side dish! Instead of having the standard potato or macaroni salad at your next cookout or barbecue, try this green pea salad. It is the perfect addition to your grilled, barbecued, or even fried chicken. I really like how Paula lightened up this recipe by cutting the mayo with a bit of vinegar. The little chunks of egg and bacon add delicious flavor and color to the dish. This green pea salad is going to be a new side dish here at Stirring the Pot. It was a hit with everybody. Best of all, I don't even feel bad about eating it!

I am submitting this tasty green pea salad to Reeni at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice for her Side Dish Showdown.


I am also submitting this to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sundays roundup, a weekly roundup of soups, salads and sandwiches.