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Cream of Green Peas
1 quart green peas; 1 small onion; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 pint rich milk; 1 tablespoon rice flour; 2 tablespoons butter. Salt and pepper. Cut the onion in half and cook with the peas in enough boiling water to cover. When the peas are cooked soft, take out the onion and strain through a coarse sieve. Return the pulp to the saucepan, add the sugar and milk; when hot add the rice flour stirred up with a little cold milk; then add the butter, cook until it thickens; add the pepper and more salt if necessary. A cup of whipped cream to the well-beaten white of an egg, added just before serving, makes it more delicate. It must not cook or stand after the addition of the cream and the egg.
This term is given to a class of soups which in making become thicker than broths, by reason of the crumbs and minced meat which are added. It is a very popular soup for the family dinner, although for formal dinners those varieties which are made from shellfish are also in favor. They should be carefully seasoned and the ingredients kept together.
A straightforward purée thickened with rice flour rather than a roux, which keeps the pea flavour clean. The only real decisions are how much pea you start with and what to do about the raw egg white finish.
- A quart of peasAlmost certainly shelled peas, a bit over a pound, which takes about three pounds in the pod. A pound of frozen peas works and needs only a few minutes' boiling rather than the long cooking assumed here.
- Don't overcook the peasModern garden or frozen peas turn grey-khaki and lose their sweetness with prolonged boiling; cook them just until tender and puree at once.
- Sieve or blenderA coarse sieve removes the skins, which is the point of the step. A blender will not do that on its own, so blend first and then pass the purée through a sieve or food mill if you want the texture the recipe intends.
- Rice flourSold in any supermarket and worth using as specified: it thickens without the pasty taste of raw wheat flour and needs no long cooking. Slurry it in cold milk, as directed, or it will lump.
- Rich milkWhole milk with a splash of cream, or half-and-half. Once the milk goes in, keep the pot below a simmer; a rice-flour-bound purée scorches easily on the bottom.
- The raw egg whiteThe final enrichment of whipped cream and beaten egg white is folded in off the heat and never cooked. Use pasteurized egg white if you make it, or simply finish with the whipped cream alone, which gives most of the lightness.
- YieldAbout a quart and a half of finished soup, serving four as a first course.