Purée de Pois Frais à la Menthe

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart (5.7 L) pot
• •3-quart (2.8 L) saucepan
• •Countertop blender or powerful immersion blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve, about 8 inches (20 cm) wide
• •Kitchen twine

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the foundation

   Pour the consommé into a 3-quart saucepan, bring it to a bare simmer, then keep it hot over the lowest heat. Bring the water and measured salt to a full rolling boil in a 6-quart pot. Tie the three mint sprigs into a compact faggot with kitchen twine so the stems can be lifted out cleanly. Set the blender and sieve within reach; once the peas begin cooking, waiting is the enemy.

2. 2

   Blanch the garnish peas

   Measure out ¾ cup (180 ml / 110 g) of the peas for the garnish. Drop them into the boiling water and cook for 60 to 90 seconds, just until tender but still round and bright. Lift them out with a sieve or slotted spoon, cool them immediately under cold running water, and drain well. Keep the cooking water at the boil.

3. 3

   Cook peas with mint

   Add the remaining 4¼ cups (1 L / 615 g) peas and the mint faggot to the rolling water. Cook uncovered for 3 to 5 minutes, tasting after three: a pea should yield sweetly under your teeth without collapsing into meal. Drain immediately. If the peas have softened too far, cool them briefly under cold running water to stop the cooking; the sieve will rescue the texture, though no amount of cooking restores lost colour. Ça se rattrape: proceed promptly and keep the finishing mint fresh.

4. 4

   Purée and pass

   Discard the cooked mint faggot. Blend the drained peas with 4 cups (950 ml / 950 g) of the hot consommé, working in batches until completely smooth. Never fill a blender more than halfway with hot liquid; remove the centre cap and cover the opening loosely with a folded towel. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl, using the back of a ladle to extract the green flesh, then discard the fibrous skins. If the purée stands too stiffly in the sieve, work in a little more hot consommé.

5. 5

   Montez au beurre

   Return the passed purée to a clean saucepan and whisk in enough of the remaining consommé to make about 2 quarts, with a consistency that pours in a smooth ribbon and lightly coats a spoon. Heat it gently to the first bare quiver. If it is thin, reduce it now; if it is too thick, add more consommé. Take the pan off the heat and montez au beurre, finish by whisking in the 5 tablespoons of cold cubed butter one piece at a time. Season with white pepper and only as much salt as the consommé requires. Do not boil the purée after the butter goes in. If beads of butter appear, take it off the heat, add a tablespoon of cool water, and blend briefly until glossy again. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Garnish and serve

   Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter over low heat and roll the reserved peas through it for about 30 seconds, just until warm and glossy. Chop the tender mint leaves now, never earlier. Ladle the purée into warmed bowls or a warmed soupière, divide the whole peas among them, and scatter over the mint in place of the customary chervil pluches. Serve at once, while the butter gleams and both layers of mint are distinct. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Fresh shelling peas lose sweetness quickly. Buy pods that feel full and crisp, shell them on the day you cook, and taste one raw. It should burst sweetly, not leave flour on the tongue.
• •If the market's peas are old or the season has passed, frozen petits pois are the honest pantry answer. Add them directly to the boiling water and begin tasting after two minutes; they need less cooking because they were blanched before freezing.
• •Use tender spearmint rather than aggressive peppermint. The tied sprigs give the consommé a quiet perfume, while the chopped leaves supply the fresh upper note. More is not better here.
• •Choose a pale, clean chicken consommé that is not heavily salted. Dark beef consommé muddies both the colour and the sweetness of the peas. Do not add cream; the sieve supplies the silk and the butter supplies the gloss.
• •Serve small bowls as a first course with a dry Loire Sauvignon Blanc. Its freshness follows the peas and mint without covering them.

Advance Preparation

• •The consommé can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the cold, or frozen until needed. Warm it before the peas are cooked so the purée never waits.
• •The peas can be cooked, blended, and passed up to 4 hours ahead. Cool the purée quickly and keep it covered in the cold, then reheat gently and mount with butter only before serving.
• •Blanch the garnish peas earlier the same day, cool and dry them well, then warm them in butter at the last moment. Chop the tender mint only when the bowls are ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)