Fresh Peas or St. Germain Royale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Four 4-ounce (120 ml) dariole molds or ramekins
• •Small food processor or blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible bowl scraper
• •Medium saucepan
• •Deep roasting pan for the bain-marie
• •Fine strainer and pouring jug

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the molds

   Heat the oven to 275°F (140°C). Butter four 4-ounce (120 ml) dariole molds or ramekins thoroughly, covering the bases, sides, and the corners where custard likes to cling. Set them in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded kitchen towel; the towel keeps the molds steady and softens the oven's heat.

2. 2

   Cook peas and herbs

   Bring the 6 cups (1.4 L) water to a full boil. Add the peas, chervil, and mint, then cook uncovered for 4 to 6 minutes, until a pea crushes into a creamy paste between two fingers. Tenderness matters more than the clock because a firm pea leaves a gritty purée. Drain immediately, keeping the herbs with the peas, and reserve at least 1 cup (240 ml) of the cooking liquor.

3. 3

   Sieve the purée

   Process the drained peas and herbs without added liquid until they form a thick paste. Press that paste through a fine-mesh sieve with a flexible scraper, working until only dry skins and fibers remain, then scrape the smooth purée from the underside. The processor replaces the brigade's pounding, but the sieve stays. Pea skins cannot be blended into silk, and silk is the point. Measure the finished purée by volume.

4. 4

   Keep the exact ratio

   Put the measured purée in a saucepan off the heat. For every 1 cup (240 ml) of purée, stir in a scant ½ cup (96 ml) reserved cooking liquor and 3 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon (48 ml) heavy cream. Add the sugar and salt. This two-fifths liquor and one-fifth cream dilution is the book's structure, not an approximation. Let the mixture cool until merely lukewarm before the eggs go in; if it feels hot against your finger, wait.

5. 5

   Bind and strain

   Whisk the whole egg and two yolks just until combined, without raising a foam. Whisk in a spoonful of the lukewarm pea mixture, then another, and finally stir the tempered eggs back into the saucepan. Pass everything through a clean fine strainer into a jug. If the purée was too warm and you see a few fine egg threads, strain at once into a cool bowl. Ça se rattrape. A mixture that has become grainy throughout was overheated and must be remade.

6. 6

   Poach without boiling

   Divide the mixture among the buttered molds and skim away any surface bubbles with a spoon. Place the roasting pan on the oven rack, pour in enough hot water to reach halfway up the molds, and tent the pan loosely with foil. Poach for 25 to 35 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers tremble slightly without sloshing. The water must remain below a simmer. If bubbles begin breaking around the molds, pull out the pan, replace 1 cup (240 ml) of the hot water with cool water, and lower the oven to 250°F (120°C). Ça se rattrape before the custards curdle.

   A thin skewer inserted near the center should emerge moist but without liquid custard. Large holes, a swollen top, or clear liquid around the edge mean the bath became too hot.
7. 7

   Rest and unmold

   Lift the molds from the bain-marie (water bath) and rest them for 8 to 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around each edge, place a warm plate over the mold, and invert in one confident motion. If a royale refuses to release, dip the base of its mold in hot water for 5 seconds and try again. Serve warm as a small first course, or chill before cutting into neat diamonds for a clear soup. À table!

Chef Tips

• •This exact royale belongs to the brief season when fresh peas taste sweet and milky straight from the pod. If the peas taste starchy raw, change the plan. Frozen peas make a respectable cousin, but they do not reproduce this source entry.
• •Measure the finished purée before adding any liquid. Peas vary in size and their skins leave different amounts behind in the sieve, so fixed cup measures can quietly break the book's two-fifths liquor and one-fifth cream proportions.
• •Chervil is delicate, faintly anise-scented, and essential to the Saint-Germain character. Parsley supplies color but not the same flavor, while tarragon overwhelms the peas; if chervil cannot be found, this is one dish worth waiting to cook.
• •Use heavy cream and real butter. The cream rounds the herbal edge without thinning the custard, and the butter gives a clean release from the molds. We don't apologize for either.
• •For a dinner-party first course, pour a dry Loire white with enough acidity to meet the peas and herbs. Serve the royales plainly, without a decorative sauce or a thicket of garnish; cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The cooked, sieved pea purée can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Press parchment directly against its surface and refrigerate it, then measure and dilute it shortly before adding the eggs.
• •The royales can be poached up to 24 hours ahead. Cool them promptly, cover the molds, and refrigerate. Rewarm them in a covered 250°F (120°C) bain-marie for 10 to 12 minutes, keeping the water below a simmer.
• •For use as a soup garnish, chill the poached royale completely before unmolding and cutting. Warm the pieces in the finished soup below a simmer so their edges remain clean and their custard stays tender.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)