I just love love love the combo of goats cheese and olives. It’s tangy, It’s salty, It’s briny. It’s a flavour explosion.
It’s a brilliant flavour contrast here to the gentle sweet greenness of a big bowl of peas.
One of those insanely simple dinners that packs a flavour punch far greater than you’d think.
I like this with chicken as the protein, however there are lots of alternatives in the Variations if you’re not in the mood for some chook.
Big Pea Bowls with Goats Cheese & Olives
Ingredients
- 4-6 tablespoons salted butter
- 500 g frozen peas
- small bunch mint leaves picked (optional)
- 200-400 g cooked protein
- handful black olives chopped
- handful goats cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan on a medium high heat. Add frozen peas and cook, covered for a minute. Stir and cook for another minute or until peas are hot and no longer frozen.
- Remove from the heat and stir in chicken and mint (if using). Taste and season remembering the olives and cheese will add more salt.
- Divide between two big bowls. Scatter over cheese and olives and enjoy!
WINE MATCH: A crisp Sauvignon blanc or Riesling.
Variations & Substitutions
other protein – cooked sausages, canned tuna, canned salmon, extra cheese, poached fish, roast nuts, boiled eggs, poached eggs.
5-ingredients / über simple – skip the olives or cheese or mint.
vegetarian – replace chicken with vegetarian protein. Poached or boiled eggs, extra goats cheese, roast almonds, chickpeas or lentils.
more substantial (carb lovers) – toss in cooked pasta or steamed potatoes.
more substantial (low carb) – extra protein or roast almonds.
keto / ultra low carb – replace peas with leafy greens like spinach.
different veg – replace peas with frozen broccoli, cauliflower or spinach (will take longer for these to defrost and cook in the butter. For spinach best to defrost first and squeeze out the excess moisture before adding to the pot.)
different cheese – the goats cheese adds a lovely tanginess but you could substitute sour cream, ricotta or other cream cheese. Or even a thick Greek yoghurt.
fresher – add a squeeze of lemon juice or a little chopped preserved lemons.
no olives – just leave them out or replace with a little chopped preserved lemon or lemon zest. Or extra cheese.
dairy-free – replace butter with extra virgin olive oil. And replace cheese with extra chicken or olives.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
butter – will keep in the fridge for weeks.
frozen peas – keep in the freezer.
mint – best to use for another meal. leaves can be frozen but will wilt when defrosted so not ideal. Alternatively make a mint oil by packing washed and dried leaves in a clean dry glass jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil use mint oil to serve with lamb, chicken or fish.
chicken – freeze it.
black olives – keep in the pantry.
goats cheese – if unopened it usually has a shelf life of a few weeks in the fridge. If in an opened, will only keep for a few days so use for another meal or freeze.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the olives, mint and goats cheese separately. Will keep in the fridge for 1 week or can be frozen. To serve, warm peas and chicken in a pan with a little more butter then serve with remaining ingredients as per the recipe.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Had a long day/evening at the rehab hospital visiting my mom. Driving home late, I was thinking frozen pizza or a sandwich (basically something quick & easy because it was late & I was tired & hungry). Then I remembered this Plan B meal & knew I had the ingredients on hand.
Came home, prepared it in a few minutes (peas, canned tuna, goat cheese, & olives), along with a small glass of Riesling. It was warming, delicious, & nourishing. Thanks for such a tasty & satisfying recipe. I love all the ingredients & the flavors together. This one will definitely be a regular for me!
Brilliant Stacie!
And hope your mom is doing OK.
So yummy! I made this as part of the Plan B challenge. It will be a go-to meal for me, I love peas! I made mine with left over Carnitas as the protein, parmesan, and green olives. It was super fast and filling!
Ooh yum Michele! Carnitas would be wonderful here
This pea bowl was a real winner for us tonight. I skipped the protein and served the peas, olives, mint and goat cheese dish as a side with a grilled lamb chop. Delish!
Yum Nan!
I’ve been meaning to try this as a pantry dish since you included it in a newsletter a few months ago. I cooked the peas (and some spinach and a potato before them) in the microwave rather than a saucepan, which admittedly took longer to melt the butter, but I find it gives me more control. For protein I used a small tin (180g) of tuna and a handful of walnuts broken up, and half a block (100g) of feta for the cheese, plus the juice from half a lemon, but didn’t bother with mint, or even the oregano that I was planning to substitute. Good.
Sounds good with the tuna feta and walnuts Mark!
I made this in a frying pan because my protein was mushrooms, which I cooked (with capsicum) before adding the peas. Danish feta for the cheese. Good.
Hi Jules,
Do you have a listing of meal plans that contain a certain recipe?
I ordered groceries from one of the meal plans several days ago. Now I can’t remember which meal plan from the archives that I used (!). I know that the Big Pea Bowls with Goats Cheese & Olives recipes is on it. Any help is appreciated. =)
Laurie
Oh no Laurie! No I don’t have a list. But I can search on the backend of the website possibly. Leave it with me. Will look in the morning for you when I have my computer (on my phone now) xx
Hi Laurie!
I found it!
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/439-meal-plan-16-mar-2020/
Let me know how you get on
Jx
Jules! You’re magical. Hopefully you didn’t spend too much time on this. Thank you thank you thank you!
Laurie
At the risk of giving away my magical secrets I have a spreadsheet I use to keep track of which recipes I use when so I do t repeat them too often. So it only took a few seconds. Enjoy your meals this week. xx