Summer Peas with Bacon and Ricotta (Hot or Cold)

Peas with bacon and ricotta is a quick summer side dish of sweet green peas, crispy bacon and cool minted ricotta, ready in about 25 minutes. It works hot as a side or cold as a picnic plate, it costs very little, and it uses cheap bacon offcuts and a single tub of cheese.

Peas with bacon and ricotta brings together fresh or frozen peas, crisp bacon offcuts and a soft ricotta whipped with mint, lemon zest and juice. The peas cook fast in bacon fat with onion, shallot, garlic and a splash of dry white wine, so they stay emerald green and a little sweet. Spoon the chilled cheese alongside the warm peas and you get a clean contrast of hot and cold in one bowl. It is cheap to make, light enough for warm weather, and easy to take to a potluck or picnic.

Ingredients for Peas with Bacon and Ricotta

• Ricotta – the cool, creamy base for the mint cream, spooned alongside the warm peas for contrast.
• Fresh mint – stirred through the ricotta for a clean, summery lift that pairs naturally with peas.
• Lemon zest – brightens the ricotta and cuts through the richness of the bacon fat.
• Lemon juice – adds a little acidity so the cheese tastes fresh rather than flat.
• Sea salt – seasons both the ricotta and the peas; go easy, as the bacon and stock are already salty.
• Black pepper – a sharp note that works against the sweet peas and soft cheese.
• Olive oil – just enough to start the bacon before its own fat takes over.
• Streaky bacon or bacon offcuts – cheap offcuts from Aldi crisp up well and flavour the whole pan; ham works too.
• Onion – softened in the bacon fat for a savoury base.
• Shallot – a touch sweeter than onion, adding depth alongside it.
• Garlic – minced and cooked briefly for a warm, savoury backbone.
• Dry white wine – deglazes the pan and reduces into a light, savoury glaze; see below for a budget swap.
• Chicken stock – loosens the pan and helps heat the peas through; a cube dissolved in water is fine.
• Fresh or frozen peas – the heart of the dish; frozen are cheap and reliable, just thaw them first.

For the dry white wine, a cheap swap is extra chicken stock with a small splash of lemon juice or white wine vinegar. Use about 180 ml stock plus a teaspoon or two of acid. It keeps the brightness that balances the bacon without the cost of a bottle.

How to Make Peas with Bacon and Ricotta

1. Step 1: Make the ricotta cream first. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, chopped mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mash and mix with a fork until fairly smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge so it firms up and the flavours settle while you cook the peas.

2. Step 2: Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp and golden, around 10 minutes. Lift the bacon out and set it aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.

3. Step 3: Add the onion and shallot to the same pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, watching so it does not burn. Pour in the white wine, bring it to the boil, and let it reduce by half.

4. Step 4: Pour in the chicken stock and stir in the peas, then add the black pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the peas are heated through. Do not overcook them; they should stay emerald green, a little sweet and slightly firm. Stir the bacon back in. Taste and adjust the salt carefully, since the stock and bacon are already salty. Serve with the chilled minted ricotta spooned alongside.

How to Serve and Store Peas with Bacon and Ricotta

Serve this peas with bacon and ricotta hot as a side next to roast chicken, grilled fish or lamb, with the cold ricotta spooned on the side so each forkful gets some warm peas and some cool cheese. For a picnic or potluck, let the peas cool and serve them at room temperature or chilled, which makes this a handy cold pea appetiser to carry along. A few crisp lettuce leaves or some warm bread turn it into a light lunch.

Store peas with bacon and ricotta leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, keeping the ricotta separate if you can so it stays clean and fresh. The peas are best eaten cold or gently warmed; avoid boiling them again, as they lose their colour and bite. The minted ricotta also works well as a spread on toast the next day, so nothing goes to waste. Freezing is not recommended, as both the peas and the cheese soften too much on thawing.

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Price Comparison for Peas with Bacon and Ricotta

This is a genuinely cheap dish, which is part of why peas with bacon and ricotta works so well for feeding a few people.

• In the UK, a 250 g tub of ricotta runs about £1.00–£1.50, frozen peas are roughly £1.00–£1.70 per kg (cheapest at Aldi or Lidl), and bacon offcuts cost around £1.50, so the whole dish lands near £4.50, or about £1.15 per serving across four.
• In Ireland, the same shop at Tesco, Dunnes or Aldi comes to roughly €5.50–€6.00 total, or about €1.40 a serving.
• In the USA, ricotta is pricier at around $3.00–$4.00 a tub, with peas and bacon bringing the total to about $9.00–$10.00, or $2.40 per serving.
• In Australia, a 250 g tub of ricotta at Woolworths or Coles is around AU$4.00–$5.00, with the full dish near AU$12.00, or AU$3.00 a serving.
• In Italy, where ricotta is a staple, a fresh tub costs as little as €1.20, keeping the dish well under €5.00. Wherever you shop, frozen peas and cheap bacon offcuts keep this a budget pea side dish.

Tips and Notes for Peas with Bacon and Ricotta

• Do not overcook the peas. The whole appeal here rests on peas that stay bright and a little firm, so keep them in the pan for just a minute or two once the stock goes in. Overcooked peas turn dull and grey and lose the sweet bite that carries the dish. If you are using frozen peas, remember they are already blanched, so they only need heating through. Pull the pan off the heat the moment they are hot and still emerald green.
• Thaw frozen peas before cooking. Tipping frozen peas straight into the pan drops the temperature fast and releases a lot of water, which stews them instead of warming them. Thaw them in a colander under cool running water, or leave them out for twenty minutes, then drain well. This keeps your reduced wine and stock from turning watery. It also means the peas heat through in seconds rather than minutes, which protects their colour.
• Chill the ricotta cream properly. The contrast between warm peas and cold cheese is the point of the dish, so give the ricotta real time in the fridge. Make it first, before you even start the bacon, so it has at least twenty minutes to firm up and let the mint and lemon settle in. A ricotta that has been sitting at room temperature goes loose and loses that clean, cool note against the warm peas. If you have time, make it a few hours ahead.
• Use the bacon fat, do not pour it away. When you lift the crisp bacon out, leave every drop of rendered fat in the pan. That fat carries the smoke and salt that flavours the onion, shallot and peas, and it does the job butter or extra oil would otherwise do. If your bacon is very lean and gives off little fat, add a small knob of butter to make up the difference. This is where a lot of the dish's savoury depth comes from.
• Season at the very end, and go light. Both the bacon and the stock cube bring a good amount of salt, so taste before you reach for the salt cellar. It is easy to oversalt this dish if you season early out of habit. Add the peas, warm them, stir the bacon back in, then taste a spoonful and adjust only if it needs it. A little black pepper at the end lifts everything without the risk.
• Swap the wine for stock and acid if needed. If you would rather not open a bottle of wine, replace it with extra chicken stock plus a teaspoon or two of lemon juice or white wine vinegar. The acid stands in for the brightness the wine would have given, and the stock keeps the pan moist. It is a sensible swap for a budget pea side dish or for anyone avoiding alcohol. The result is just as fresh and savoury.

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Peas with Bacon and Ricotta Recipe

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Peas with bacon and ricotta is a quick, budget-friendly summer side of sweet green peas, crispy bacon and cool minted ricotta. It works hot as a side or cold as a picnic plate, and comes together in about 25 minutes. Cheap bacon offcuts and frozen peas keep the cost low.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the minted ricotta:

• 200 g (7 oz) ricotta
• 1 bunch fresh mint leaves, chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

For the peas:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 300 g (10½ oz) sliced bacon or bacon offcuts (or ham), chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 200 ml (¾ cup) dry white wine (or 180 ml chicken stock plus 1–2 teaspoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar)
• 100 ml (⅓ cup) chicken stock
• 400 g (14 oz) fresh or frozen peas (thaw if frozen)
• Sea salt, to taste
• A generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine the ricotta, chopped mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mash and mix with a fork until fairly smooth. Cover and chill in the fridge while you cook the peas.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and fry until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Lift the bacon out and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
3. Add the onion and shallot to the same pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute, taking care not to let it burn.
4. Pour in the white wine, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the chicken stock, then stir in the peas and the black pepper.
5. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the peas are heated through and still emerald green and slightly firm. Stir the bacon back in. Taste and adjust the salt carefully, as the stock and bacon are already salty.
6. Serve the warm peas with the chilled minted ricotta spooned alongside.

Notes

Thaw and drain frozen peas before cooking so they heat through fast and do not water down the pan.

Do not overcook the peas; pull them off the heat while still bright green and a little firm.

Leave the bacon fat in the pan after frying, as it carries most of the savoury flavour.

Make the ricotta cream first, or even a day ahead, so it chills and the flavours settle.

Season only at the end and go light, since the bacon and stock cube are both salty.