Mousselines de Jambon aux Petits Pois

Mousselines de Jambon aux Petits Pois (ham mousselines with buttered peas) teaches one precise thing: glazing is a flash of fierce heat, not a second cooking. The mousselines arrive beneath an ivory coat of ham-scented Sauce Allemande, their tops just touched with gold, while very small peas shine with enough butter to gather in the centre without swimming.

The original assumed a saucier on staff, a stockpot never off the fire, and a salamander ready the instant the platter reached it. At home, prepare one four-person batch of Mousselines de Jambon Alexandra (No. 1433), hold back a spoonful of its hot sauce for correction, and use a fully heated household broiler. The brigade's simultaneous hands were scaffolding and can go. The gentle poaching, ham-and-truffle decoration, Parmesan-enriched Sauce Allemande, crown arrangement, and rapid glaze are the dish and must stay. Eight mousselines replace the banquet quantity, and the asparagus changes to petits pois exactly as this variation directs. One cook, one stove, one evening.

Have the peas buttered, the broiler fierce, and the serving plates warm before the sauced crown goes beneath the heat. That coordination decides the dish. Linger over the glaze and the mousselines tighten; move smartly and they remain supple beneath their golden surface.