Potage Saint-Germain

Any recipe with the words ‘Saint-Germain’ or ‘Clamart’ in the title means the dish contains peas, since both areas of Paris were once famous for growing them. This is a very simple soup, made principally of dried split peas, though both the flavour and the colour are improved if you include some fresh petits pois, turning a determinedly khaki presentation into something more appealingly green. The technique here is contemporary, though the recipe is generally traditional.