Potage Saint Germain

Author: Alex Recker

Potage saint Germain is a French take on pea soup. It's great during the winter, and work well as a main course or a side.

If you're going for style points, this dish is "graded" on how well it retains its green color. For this reason it's finished at the end with butter, not cream.

Materials

  • split peas, dry (16 oz)
  • white onion, chopped (0.25 cup)
  • carrot, chopped (0.25 cup)
  • leeks, just the green part, chopped (2 tbsp)
  • pork belly1, chopped (0.25 cup)
  • garlic, peeled & bruised (2 cloves)
  • butter (ex)
  • water or chicken stock, (2-3 cups)
  • bouquet garnis (optional)

Procedure

Blanching the Peas

  1. Add all peas to a saucepan. Cover them in at least an inch of cold water.
  2. Turn heat to high. When the water is just about to enter a rolling boil, shut off the heat.
  3. Drain the peas into a collander. Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Cooking the Soup

  1. Add a notch of butter to a dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter is cracking, add pork and stir.,
  2. Sweat pork until it takes on color, then add the carrots, onions, and leeks. Sweat until onions begin to turn translucent.
  3. Add peas and water (or chicken stock). Bring to a simmer, skimming off any scum that rises.
  4. Add garlic and bouquet garnis or bones if available.
  5. Close the lid and turn heat to medium low. Simmer soup for 30 minutes.
  6. Add salt and pepper to the soup. Close the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes. By now the peas should be getting mushy.

Preparing the Soup

  1. Turn off the heat. Remove bones and bouquet garnis if used and discard.
  2. Thoroughly blend the soup with an immersion blender.
  3. Pour the soup through a strainer into a second pot. Use the back of a ladle to wring it through the strainer.
  4. Add salt and pepper to taste while you warm the soup up. Finish by stirring in a pad of butter. Serve with pan fried croutons.

References

  1. Also use pork shoulder, pork chops, or even bacon. Set aside bones. ↩