Creamed Fresh Peas
A velvety puree of fresh peas, bound with almond or cow's milk and egg yolks, perfumed with ginger and colored with saffron, garnished with a little shredded poultry.
A velvety puree of fresh peas, bound with almond or cow's milk and egg yolks, perfumed with ginger and colored with saffron, garnished with a little shredded poultry.
When I am not a serpent, I am a builder and a good housewife, know that. My household is large, and everyone must eat their fill. So have these fresh peas cook until they burst, pass them through a sieve, and bind them with milk and egg yolks as one curdles a broth; a pinch of saffron for the golden color, ginger for warmth. It is a humble and gentle dish, but it is what keeps the masons of my towers standing.
- •Fresh peas (new peas) — a full bowl (base of the pottage)
- •Milk (or almond milk on meager days) — to taste (smooth binder)
- •Egg yolks — a few (thickener)
- •Saffron — a few strands (color and aroma)
- •Ginger — a pinch (spice)
- •Boiled poultry meat — a little (garnish)
Creamed Fresh Peas
A velvety puree of fresh peas, bound with almond or cow's milk and egg yolks, perfumed with ginger and colored with saffron, garnished with a little shredded poultry.
Why this dish? Between two Saturdays, Mélusine is lady of Lusignan: she keeps house, builds castles, and feeds her large household. This pea pottage bound with milk and egg yolks is everyday cuisine in a great Poitevin house, mild and nourishing.
When I am not a serpent, I am a builder and a good housewife, know that. My household is large, and everyone must eat their fill. So have these fresh peas cook until they burst, pass them through a sieve, and bind them with milk and egg yolks as one curdles a broth; a pinch of saffron for the golden color, ginger for warmth. It is a humble and gentle dish, but it is what keeps the masons of my towers standing.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh peas (new peas) — a full bowl (base of the pottage)
- Milk (or almond milk on meager days) — to taste (smooth binder)
- Egg yolks — a few (thickener)
- Saffron — a few strands (color and aroma)
- Ginger — a pinch (spice)
- Boiled poultry meat — a little (garnish)
Ingredients
- Fresh peas (or frozen) — 500 g (base)
- Whole milk — 30 cl (binder)
- Egg yolks — 2 (thickener)
- Saffron — 1 pinch (color)
- Ground ginger — 1/2 tsp (spice)
- Cooked chicken breast — 1, shredded (garnish)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Cook the peas in salted water until tender, then pass through a sieve or blend into a smooth puree.
- Heat the milk with the saffron without boiling.
- Off the heat, whisk the egg yolks into a little warm milk, then stir back into the pea puree.
- Thicken over very low heat, stirring constantly, until it coats the back of a spoon (never boil, or it will curdle).
- Season with ginger and salt, garnish with shredded poultry, and serve hot.
How it was made : The 'cretonnée' is a thickened pottage described in the *Ménagier de Paris*: legumes (peas or broad beans) were bound with milk and egg yolks, with ginger and saffron. Saffron, imported and expensive, signaled a wealthy household. Peas and beans — Old World legumes — were a dietary staple; the common bean came from the Americas much later.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a warm verrine with a crispy bread chip, and name the dish 'Velouté of the Builders' as a nod to the castles Mélusine raised in a single night.
Sources : Le Ménagier de Paris (v. 1393)
Melusine · Charactorium
