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Columbus Day is right around the corner, and as regular readers know, that’s the occasion each year for us to feature a classic Italian-American dish. This year we’re sharing an old family recipe, one that I’m sure will be familiar to many readers “of a certain age”: Peas and Eggs. A quick and inexpensive dish that recalls simpler—and leaner—times. Remember Clara Cannucciari’s Great Depression Cooking YouTube series, in which her grandson lovingly recorded the 90-plus-year-old Clara preparing the simple and inexpensive meals that the family had gotten through the hardships of that era? This is that kind of cooking.
The original Old World version of this dish, peas, cheese and eggsis a delight, but today we’re going to talk about the New World version. For once, the trip across the ocean did not make the dish more complicated or carnivorous—just the opposite, in fact—but one thing marks Peas and Eggs as Italian-American: the use of a humble convenience food, canned peas.
Foodies often turn up their noses at canned products, but they have their place, I think, in home cooking, particularly when it comes to legumes. And peas were among the first foods to be canned. In 1806 the legendary gastronomist Grimod de la Reynière wrote glowingly of the new-fangled productnoting that canned peas were “green, tender and more flavorful than those eaten at the height of the season.” I wouldn’t quite go that far, but Peas and Eggs, along with its close cousin, pasta and peasjust wouldn’t taste quite right to me made any other way.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- Olive oil
- 2 cans of peas
- 4-6 eggs (depending on size)
- 75g (3 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
- A few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
Directions
In a large braiser or saucepan, sauté the chopped onions gently in olive oil until they are very soft and translucent, taking care that they don’t brown. While the onions are braising, season them lightly with salt and pepper, and add a few drops of water from time to time—this will help them soften and prevent browning. Take your time, as the flavor of the dish depends in large part on coaxing the sweetness out of this sautéed of gently sautéed onions.
Pour the canned peas, together with its liquid, into the pot. Let them simmer gently for just a few minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.
While the peas are simmering, whisk the eggs together with the grated cheese and, if using, the parsley, in a mixing bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Turn up the heat a bit and add the egg mixture to the peas. Mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until the eggs have formed soft curds and remove from the heat. The eggs will absorb the liquid the longer it cooks—you can let it cook longer for a ‘dry’ version, shorter for a ‘wet’ one, as you prefer.
Serve immediately, with some extra cheese sprinkled on top if you like, and perhaps a nice turn or two of freshly ground pepper.
Notes on Peas and Eggs
The Old World version of Peas and Eggs, peas, cheese and eggscalls for fresh or frozen peas instead of canned; instead of the canning liquid, some homemade broth is added to the peas as they simmer. Fresh peas will take a bit longer to cook than canned or frozen. The Tuscans add some bacon to the sautéedand rather than being scrambled, the eggs are gently opened and placed whole on top of the simmering peas to poach—very much like Eggs Florentine.
As mentioned, you can make your Peas and Eggs dry or wet. And if you add broth to your Peas and Eggs, it turns itself into a rather nice soup as well. You might even go crazy and take it in another direction, adding fingering or another smaller pasta shape, which makes for a fine pasta dish, a slightly richer version of pasta and peas.
Peas and Eggs is a real poor man’s meal, but it really does taste better if you use those slightly more expensive, very young smaller peas, which are sweeter and more delicate in taste. And if you’re concerned about the BPA in canned products, some companies now use BPA-free cansand others sell peas in jars.
Peas and Eggs is a hard dish to categorize. It could be a first course, especially if you make it on the soupy side, or a vegetarian second course, or even a side dish if you go easy on the egg. But to my mind, Peas and Eggs is interesting enough to be its own light dinner—a single dishas they call it in Italian—served with a nice chunk of crusty bread and followed by a piece of fruit and perhaps a nice bit of aged cheese.
Finally, a special thanks to my Mom for sharing Angelina’s old recipe, which she still makes from time to time. Without her good memory, so many of these family recipes would have been lost by now!
Peas and Eggs
Total Time15 minutes mins
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- Olive oil
- 2 cans of peas
- 4-6 eggs depending on size
- 75 g 3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
- A few springs of parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
In a large braiser or saucepan, sauté the chopped onions gently in olive oil until they are very soft and translucent, taking care that they don’t brown. While the onions are braising, season them lightly with salt and pepper, and add a few drops of water from time to time—this will help them soften and prevent browning.
Pour the peas, together with its liquid, into the pot. Let them simmer gently for just a few minutes, to allow the flavors to meld.
While the peas are simmering, whisk the eggs together with the grated cheese and, if using, the parsley, in a mixing bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Turn up the heat a bit and add the egg mixture to the peas. Mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until the eggs have formed soft curds and remove from the heat. Serve immediate, with some extra cheese sprinkled on top if you like, and perhaps a nice turn or two of freshly ground pepper.