Purée de Pois Frais à la Menthe

Purée de Pois Frais à la Menthe (fresh pea purée with mint) teaches one clean lesson: mint must perfume the peas, never smother them. A faggot of three little sprigs cooks with the peas and comes out; tender leaves are chopped over the bowls at the last moment. The herb lies in two layers, deep and fresh, while the peas remain unmistakably themselves.

The source assumed a saucier, a pot of consommé never off the fire, and enough hands to pound, pass, and finish a service quantity on command. Tonight, one measured saucepan of good consommé, a blender, and a fine sieve do the same honest work for about two quarts. The brigade's repeated pounding and long hot holding are scaffolding, so they go. Passing the purée and mounting it with cold butter stay, because those steps are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.

The finished purée should pour in a green ribbon, glossy from butter, with whole peas under the spoon and mint lifting the first mouthful. Don't let the main batch idle in its boiling water. The step that decides everything is stopping when a pea yields sweetly under your teeth, then draining and puréeing at once.