Potage Saint-Germain and the Parisian Soup Tradition

Ingredients

• 500 g dried split peas, or 1 kg fresh garden peas for potage Clamart (spring version)
• For the mirepoix
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 stick celery, diced
• 1 bouquet garni, bay, thyme, parsley stalks
• 1 ham hock or lean salt pork, whole piece
• 1.5 L water or light stock, stock preferred; water produces a thin, flat result
• To finish
• 30 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, for monter au beurre
• 1 small pour double cream
• For the garnish
• 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 30 g clarified butter, for frying croutons
• 1 small handful fresh pea shoots
• 1 small handful chervil, pluches only

Method

1. 1
   Place the split peas, mirepoix vegetables, bouquet garni, and ham hock in a large pot. Cover with 1.5 L of light stock. Bring to the boil, skim thoroughly, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook for 45–60 minutes (20 minutes for fresh peas). The peas are done when they collapse completely under light pressure between thumb and forefinger.
2. 2
   Remove the ham hock and bouquet garni. Pass the soup in batches through a blender or food mill, then push it through a fine chinois (conical sieve) with a ladle, pressing firmly. This is where the dish lives or dies: the chinois removes all fibre and creates the velvet texture that defines a potage — a blended but unsieved preparation is a purée, not a potage. The soup emerging from the sieve should be perfectly smooth and uniform in colour.
3. 3
   Return the sieved soup to a clean pot. Adjust the consistency with additional warm stock or a small addition of cream — the potage must flow freely and evenly from a ladle; if it holds a mound, it is too thick.
4. 4
   Over a low heat, finish the soup by whisking in the 30 g of cold butter a few cubes at a time (monter au beurre), followed by the small pour of cream. The surface should carry a visible sheen. Taste and correct the seasoning. The soup must be served very hot; bring it back to temperature if necessary, taking care not to boil once the butter is incorporated.
5. 5
   Fry the 1 cm bread cubes in clarified butter, turning frequently, until golden and crisp on all sides. Drain on paper. Add the croutons to each bowl only at the moment of service — if they are added earlier they go soggy.
6. 6
   Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Place a small cluster of fresh pea shoots and a few chervil pluches at the centre, then scatter the croutons around them. Serve immediately.