Petit Pois Pea and Pimento Casserole

By cecelia26_

Ingredients

• 2 cups of sliced carrots, cooked, reserve cooking water
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh parsley
• 1 (15 ounce) can of tiny early or petit pois peas, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can of yellow or white corn, drained, but liquid reserved
• 1 (2 ounce) jar of pimentos, drained
• 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs, panko or crushed cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from deepsouthdish.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 9 inch baking dish; set aside. Cover the carrots with water and cook until tender but still a bit firm, remove and set aside, reserving the cooking water. Melt the butter over medium heat and stir in the flour, cooking and stirring for about 4 minutes. Drain the water from the corn into the 1/2 cup of cream and add enough of the cooking water from the carrots to equal 1-1/2 cups total liquid.

Slowly add the cream mixture to the butter roux, stirring until fully incorporated and mixture thickens. Season with salt, pepper and parsley. Add the drained carrots, peas, corn and pimentos and stir gently to combine. Turn out into casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs with butter and sprinkle on top and bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes. Double this for the holidays.

Variation: Add in 1/2 cup of your favorite shredded cheese. Can substitute freshly cooked corn scraped from the cob, frozen corn, carrots or peas, though do look for the baby peas, rather than the larger garden peas. Can also use frozen mixed vegetables. If you like. Add in about 1/2 cup of finely minced onion and/or 1/4 cup of minced celery with the butter before adding in the flour and cook the vegetables a few minutes to soften them. Can also add in one can of drained water chestnuts, or sliced almonds, for a little crunch. Though this is a great side dish for ham, throw in some diced, cooked ham to make this a great main dish casserole.