This is How You Rock Potage St. Germain

Fresh Pea Soup with a twist

Potage St Germain is the French version of pea soup. It is made with fresh peas that have just come up in the garden, shallots, chives, lettuce, and chives. Maybe a little creme fraiche. What’s important is that it’s the light version of pea soup. You may be used to split pea soup—snert, if you’re Dutch. Split pea soup is made from hulled dry peas that are tumbled and cracked open. Hence, split. Split pea soup is thick and hearty and exactly what you need on a cold day. But Potage St Germain uses fresh peas and it’s completely different from snert. SNERT!

Because Potage St Germain uses fresh peas, even if they are frozen

Use frozen peas. Like you have a choice—unless you home garden, which I hope you do. Not many stores carry green peas right out of the field. You may find them at a farmer’s market but dude, look: frozen peas are fine. Since frozen peas have been around since 1929 when Captain Birdseye (I am not kidding) invented the process that became a 145 billion dollar a year industry. Fresh peas are blanched then frozen quickly so they retain their bright green color. Honestly, frozen peas might be a better choice.

Fresh Pea Soup with lettuce and mint is a thing

I have never put lettuce in my soup. I’ve never cooked lettuce in any way, but apparently, the French don’t care. They cook lettuce and in this soup, you will too. The lettuce gives the soup both body and makes it smoothalicious. It also helps give the soup a deep green color which is why we are not using Iceberg which is the most useless of all lettuces and should, perhaps, just go home. I use young butterleaf lettuce and a small handful of fresh spinach ALONG WITH FRESH MINT.

The mint is about pea soup flavor—but also about pea soup color

Mint and peas are a classic combo—just ask Roger Vergé. They go well together pertly because their flavor is associated with spring. But also just because they taste amazing in combination—and really, the lettuce is part of that marriage. The texture of the lettuce binds the flavor mint and the peas together. Which makes no sense, but look, I don’t claim to be a professional here.

You can go further by making a quick vegetable stock like the Bojon Gourmet did a few years back. Her inclusion of the leek leaves and other green vegetables is a stroke of genius and can only add to the flavor of your Potage St. Germain. But you can also buy vegetable stock or use chicken broth.

Potage St. Germain is vegan, if you want it to be

I want this soup to be vegetarian so the chicken stock is out. As is any ham hock or bacon. This isn’t split pea soup. It’s not Snert. Also, I have a fistful of fresh dill and I think it belongs in this soup. It certainly pairs well with mint and peas and it’s a spring (ish) herb. Plus, it’s green A.F. which matters.

A word on onions

I love onions but I’m not a purist and I like mixing them up in recipes. In this one, the bulk of the onion portion are the leeks, then the yellow onion. However, I like shallots in this kind of dish so I use a slightly smaller onion and two shallots to make up the onion part of the leek and onion onioning.