Potage Saint-Germain - Fresh Pea Soup

This is a clipping from my Boulder, Colorado days during the late1970's.  I worked in the Tax Shelter department at E.F. Hutton in Denver and they were always having promotions to encourage the brokers to sell certain oil and gas tax shelters available at the time.  One such incentive was a trip to Paris to those brokers who sold a certain amount in a promoted tax shelter.  There's nothing like a free trip to Paris to encourage brokers to extol the benefits of investing in an oil and gas deal to their clients.



During the campaign the office newsletter would include different French recipes.  I clipped this pea soup recipe and have made it numerous times over the years. 

You can use this basic technique to make a variety of cream soups using different vegetables.  Simmer whatever vegetables in chicken broth, pureé it, return to the pot, add butter and cream and heat through.  Many times it is what ever happens to be in my refrigerator that I needed to use of before it goes bad.  I fondly call it Cream of Vegetable Drawer Soup.

 It's an easy recipe and is one that you can make ahead through the blending process.  The recipe doubles nicely (which is what I did today).

It's such a bright, verdant color isn't it?

After the butter and cream are incorporated it becomes a lovely pastel green.

Potage Saint-Germain - Fresh Pea Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups frozen or fresh peas (~ a 10 ounce bag frozen), rinsed
1/2 cup sliced leeks (2 - 3 leeks, depending on their size), white part only
10 spinach leaves, washed and torn into pieces (large leaves; not baby spinach - see note below)
1/2 small head lettuce (iceberg or Boston Bibb), roughly chopped
a handful of flat parsley leaves
1/2 tsp dried chervil
1-1/2 to 2 cups cups chicken broth
3/4 cup light cream
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
In a Dutch oven, place the lettuce, spinach, leeks, peas, parsley and chervil.  Pour chicken broth over the top and stir to combine.  Simmer over medium heat, for about 20 minutes.

In batches, pureé the vegetables and broth in a blender.  Transfer to a saucepan.  Return saucepan to low heat.  Add butter and cream.  Stir gently until butter has melted and cream is incorporated.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with homemade croutons or pumpkin seeds.


Note:  The recipe calls for the larger, more mature spinach leaf rather than the baby spinach.  Yes, it's dirty and sandy and you'll have to wash it several times but I think it yields so much more flavor which will add more depth to the flavor of your soup.  If you opt to use baby spinach, you'll need to compensate for the amount.



 

A Picnic Pea Salad

I don't recall where or when I came across this pea salad.  I do know it's pretty old because I typed the recipe out on an IBM Selectric.  The salad's a nice diversion from the usual stand-by's of potato salad and black-eyed-pea salad that I seem to gravitate to when asked to bring a salad to the picnic or pot luck.  I made this recently for a family get-together over Labor Day weekend.

I refer to it as a pea salad but there are other goodies in here too, like french cut green beans, shoe peg corn, pimientos, bell pepper, celery, red onion.  Just a note about the onion....this year the red onions I've bought have been e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y potent.  I used half the called for amount and diced them a little tinier than the other vegetables.



All of the vegetables are mixed together in a large bowl and tossed with a sweet mixture of white vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, salt and pepper.




It's a great make-ahead recipe.  In fact, I start mine two days prior to serving. The dressing is cooked and needs to be cooled before mixing it with the vegetables.  I like to chill it in the refrigerator overnight.

Then, once the salad is mixed together the flavors meld nicely when refrigerated overnight.

The next morning you don't have to worry about preparing anything but yourself for the party!  Just grab it from the 'fridge and go!

Picnic Pea Salad
Serves 12

Ingredients:
For the Dressing -
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

For the Vegetable Mixture -
4 ribs celery
1 red bell pepper
1 medium sized red onion
1 - 4 ounce jar diced pimientos
1 - 16 ounce can Lesueur sweet peas
1 - 16 ounce can French style green beans
1 - 12 ounce can white shoepeg corn

Mise en place:

• Just go a-head on (as they say in West Texas)  to the "Method".  Once you've prepared all of your ingredients they're dumped in their respective receptacles as you go anyway!

Method:
Measure out all ingredients for the Dressing into a small saucepan.  Stir the ingredients as you bring them to a boil.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Refrigerate overnight if desired. 

Dice celery, bell pepper, and onion (mine are usually ~ 3/8") and transfer to a large mixing bowl.  Drain the pimientos, peas, green beans & corn and dump in the mixing bowl.

Gently fold to combine all of the vegetables (better done with hands).

Pour the cooled dressing over the vegetables and gently fold to mix.  Transfer to a storage container with lid and refrigerate overnight.

The longer the salad marinates, the better the flavor.