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
- Add all peas to a saucepan. Cover them in at least an inch of cold water.
- Turn heat to high. When the water is just about to enter a rolling boil, shut off the heat.
- Drain the peas into a collander. Rinse with cold water and set aside.
Cooking the Soup
- Add a notch of butter to a dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter is cracking, add pork and stir.,
- Sweat pork until it takes on color, then add the carrots, onions, and leeks. Sweat until onions begin to turn translucent.
- Add peas and water (or chicken stock). Bring to a simmer, skimming off any scum that rises.
- Add garlic and bouquet garnis or bones if available.
- Close the lid and turn heat to medium low. Simmer soup for 30 minutes.
- 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
- Turn off the heat. Remove bones and bouquet garnis if used and discard.
- Thoroughly blend the soup with an immersion blender.
- Pour the soup through a strainer into a second pot. Use the back of a ladle to wring it through the strainer.
- 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
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Also use pork shoulder, pork chops, or even bacon. Set aside bones. ↩