Creamed Peas

A one-line formula that assumes the cook already knows how to make a white sauce. The proportions below fill in what the book leaves unsaid.

• What "rich white sauce" meansPeriod books graded white sauce by thickness: roughly 1 tablespoon each butter and flour per cup of milk at the thin end, 2 tablespoons each for a medium sauce; a rich version adds more butter or replaces part of the milk with cream. For about 3 cups of peas, 1 cup of sauce is enough to coat without drowning.
• Cook the flour outLet the butter and flour bubble together a minute or two before the milk goes in. A sauce this short on other flavour shows raw flour immediately.
• Canned peasDrain and rinse them, then heat them through in the sauce rather than boiling them separately — they are already fully cooked and will collapse. Modern frozen peas are a better swap: three to four minutes from frozen, no thawing.
• Fresh peasShelled fresh peas need 4–8 minutes in salted water depending on age. Drain well; carried-over water thins the sauce and dulls it.
• Combine off the heatFold the hot peas into the hot sauce and serve. Held over direct heat the sauce tightens and the skins split.
• Seasoning to tasteSalt and white pepper, with nutmeg an optional addition some cooks made. A little of the pea cooking liquid loosens the sauce and puts some flavour back.
• YieldAbout 3 cups of peas with 1 cup of sauce serves six as a side dish.