Greek peas and potato – Arakas

Greek peas and potato recipe made with fresh sweet peas. Arakas is a classic Greek dish from Mediterranean cuisine and now that peas are in season you can make it from scratch with this very easy recipe.

To make a simple easy vegetarian dinner, delicious peas and potatoes are cooked in olive oil. These are seasoned with sweet onions, fresh dill and parsley.

All of the veggies are slowly simmered in the savoury sauce. When you make it top it with salty Greek feta and, of course, some bread to soak up all of the delectable juices. It may be eaten warm or at room temperature, and the leftovers are much better!

Greek cuisine has a lot of simple, tasty vegetarian recipes. Most of these recipes are cooked with fresh, healthful ingredients. This Arakas Laderos is one such dish.

Traditionally Feta is not added into the recipe but I saw a recipe of Arakas which is topped with feta on Tiktok and that was a deal breaker for me. Of course I made that same night itself!

About Arakas

Greek peas and potato (Arakas laderos kokkinistos) is a classic Greek dish that belongs to the “Ladera” type of Greek meals. The speciality of these meals are these are served solely with olive oil and no additional fat.

This traditional Greek dish comes in several forms, the most popular of which is this classic rendition of peas and potato stew with carrots in a tomato sauce.

This meal requires an onion, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, fresh dill, and, of course, peas as the primary component.

Why we love this recipe

• Super easy to make
• A health friendly veggie loaded dish
• Very diverse and versatile
• You can serve it with any bread and bread soaks up the flavour beautifully.

Ingredients

This one is made entirely of fresh ingredients. The tastes of fresh parsley and dill are a must in almost every Greek dish.

• Olive oil- one of the key ingredients that adds a lot of flavours to the sweet pea and potato dish.
• Sweet peas- Sweet peas can be used fresh or frozen.  
• Gold potatoes- these make the best greek styles sweet pea and potatoes because they are soft and tender
• Carrots- carrots apart from adding extra flavours, adds a splash of colour and sweetness to the dish. In winters I use red carrot otherwise the Orange carrots which is available in all seasons.
• Garlic
• Tomato paste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Potato, cut into small chunks
• Red Onion
• Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Fresh Dill, chopped
• Water
• feta cheese, crumbled- if you don’t want to add feta cheese you can avoid it but i love the way it adds richness and creaminess to the dish.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions – Step by Step Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a big saucepan over medium heat. 
2. Cook for a few minutes after adding the onion.
3.  Stir in the garlic for another 30 seconds. 
4. Stir in the tomato paste for 1-2 minutes, or until it dissolves. To taste, season with salt and pepper.
5. After that, mix in the potatoes and carrots to evenly cover everything. Cook, stirring periodically, for 5 minutes.
6. Toss in the peas and herbs to cover everything.

1. 1 cup water, poured over the edge of the saucepan and mixed. 
2. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are soft, covered. 
3. Stir once in a while. Add a bit extra water if the potatoes absorb all of the water and require a longer time to boil. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the feta cheese.

Variations

The recipe of Arakas I have shared is how Greeks make it. If you are not a puritan and like to shake things a little bit you can try the following variations.

• CHANGE THINGS UP: Add a diced avocado to the mixture, or mushrooms.
• Keep in mind that tomatoes are a fruit! Simply substitute other fragile fruits like mango, peaches, pineapple strawberries, or even sweet corn for the tomato, and adjust to taste. 
• I’ll occasionally substitute red onions for white, add a red bell pepper for crunch, or toss in an avocado. 
• To make the dish vegan, skip the feta cheese

Substitutions

When fresh spring peas are not available, frozen peas work well in this recipe.

If tomato paste is not available You may just grate the pulp of fresh tomatoes and use that.

Recipe Notes

• Do not add too much water. Water should be enough to cook the veggies and not too much. In the end peas and potatoes should be coated in the oily sauce, that shouldn’t be watery.
• All the vegetables to cook slow to medium heat.

Top Tip

Use top quality extra virgin olive oil, which will enhance the flavour. DO NOT use less quantity of oil as this recipe has oil-based sauce.

Serving Suggestions

When done, serve it topped with Greek feta and, of course, some slices of bread to soak up all of the delectable juices. It may be eaten warm or at room temperature. The leftovers taste much better because the veggies get all soaked up and flavourful.

Storage

You can store the dish for up to four days in the refrigerator. Before consuming, take it out of the refrigerator a half-hour well in advance. Do not freeze this as potatoes lose their texture and taste in this dish.

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• Greek Watermelon Feta Salad

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