Not Chicken And Dumplings — This Southern Side Dish Starts With Canned Peas

Anyone with a passing knowledge of comforting Southern fare probably knows about chicken and dumplings (a Dolly Parton favorite, for the record). But it's time its humble, cheaper cousin gets its due: peas and dumplings. The concept is simple, and pretty close to its chicken-centric counterpart: Peas are simmered in a broth with dumpling dough dropped in and allowed to cook until tender, soaking up some of the broth along the way. It's a tidy mix of sweet and grassy flavors from the peas, with the pillowy, starchy goodness of dumplings adding some heft to the dish.

Comforting? Yes. Complicated? Definitely not. Many recipes use just a couple of cans of peas, along with a bouillon cube, milk, and butter for the broth. Then, dumplings are made with flour, shortening, and milk. The whole thing only needs about 20 minutes on the stove, plus a little prep time for the dumplings. You could even use canned biscuit dough if you're feeling particularly lazy. Canned peas are precooked, so you don't really need to give them a lot of time; rather, you're just building a quick broth around them. You can add extras like ham, bacon, or a more elaborate chicken broth if you want to turn it from a side into more of a main dish, but it could be argued that you'll water down the pea flavor, which is the star of the dish.

While chicken and dumplings probably date back more than two centuries, the history of peas and dumplings seems hazy. There are anecdotal stories that place it at least as far back as the Great Depression, and considering the dumplings here are comparable to those in the chicken dish, they may trace back to knödel (German dumplings) brought to the U.S. by immigrants. That said, there's no real way to confirm this. Just don't confuse the dish with Bahamian pea and dumpling soup — that's a whole other recipe.

If the basic recipe above leaves you in need of additional flavor, consider adding extra ingredients to the broth. Onions and garlic are some obvious additions (saute them before adding the liquid), as are herbs. There's no issue with using frozen peas, either; some argue that they're actually fresher, sweeter, and tastier. On the dumpling side, you could add an egg to the dough for extra richness or spice things up a little with nutmeg, while baking powder can make them puff up a bit more. For a major variation, look to North Carolina, where field peas (technically legumes) sometimes take the place of the peas — although the soup for this version usually uses far more ingredients. Peas and dumplings are usually served as a side dish alongside something like a holiday ham or roast chicken, but serve up a big portion, and they also work as a standalone meal.