Asparagus "en petit pois"
As the name suggests, this historic recipe (see below for more details) treats asparagus like peas, Napoleonic French style: first cooked the usual way, then cut small (to look like peas), cooked again in stock, and finished with a cream and egg yolk sauce.
48 K 3.7/5 (7 reviews)
45 min.
Easy
4 people
9 IngredientsLast modified on: May 2nd 2021
For 4 people, you will need:
- 1
800 g Asparagus - 2
30 g butter - 3
100 ml vegetable stock - 4
100 ml liquid cream - 5
2 egg yolks - 6
2 pinches grated nutmeg - 7
chives - 8
salt - 9
pepper - Total weight: 1,070 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 35 min.
Cooking: 15 min.
All in all: 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 20 min.
Prepare and cook 800 g Asparagus in a large pan of salted water until barely tender, but still slightly firm. Do not overcook.
If they are too long, cut them in half.
If they are too long, cut them in half.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
Drain, cool under running cold water, then drain again.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
Cut the asparagus into small pieces the size of peas (obviously).
Stage 4
Prepare all the asparagus like this, transferring the cut pieces onto a cloth to dry.
Stage 5 - 3 min.
Put a large saucepan on medium heat and melt 30 g butter.
When hot, add the asparagus, salt, pepper and mix well.
When hot, add the asparagus, salt, pepper and mix well.
Stage 6 - 4 min.
Add 100 ml vegetable stock and leave to simmer until the stock had almost completely evaporated.
Stage 7 - 1 min.
Add i100 ml liquid cream and 2 egg yolks. Mix well.
Stage 8 - 4 min.
Leave on low heat to thicken gently.
Stage 9
Serve in small individual dishes.
Remarks
You can use chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock.
This recipe takes its inspiration from Jean-Claude Brisville's play "Le Souper " (The Supper), which shows a supper – possibly imagined – shared by Fouché (Napoleon's chief of police) and Talleyrand (Napoleon's crafty chief diplomat) on the eve of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815.
Talleyrand is hosting in sumptuous style, his personal cook Antonin Carème is in the kitchen, and among the dishes on the menu is "Asperges en petits pois", for which he gives Fouché the recipe, saying it comes from a certain Monsieur de Cussy (Chief Steward of the imperial household under Napoleon, then under Louis XVIII).
It's a terrific historical drama (you can watch an extract here and test your French!), which was later made into an excellent film.
This recipe takes its inspiration from Jean-Claude Brisville's play "Le Souper " (The Supper), which shows a supper – possibly imagined – shared by Fouché (Napoleon's chief of police) and Talleyrand (Napoleon's crafty chief diplomat) on the eve of the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815.
Talleyrand is hosting in sumptuous style, his personal cook Antonin Carème is in the kitchen, and among the dishes on the menu is "Asperges en petits pois", for which he gives Fouché the recipe, saying it comes from a certain Monsieur de Cussy (Chief Steward of the imperial household under Napoleon, then under Louis XVIII).
It's a terrific historical drama (you can watch an extract here and test your French!), which was later made into an excellent film.
And to drink?
I suggest a nice Valençay, either white or red, whichever you prefer, to enter properly into the spirit of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, known simply as Talleyrand.
Keeping: Should be eaten immediately.
Source: Home made, based on Jean-Claude Brisville's play "Le Souper".
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 40 RDI=20 % | 80 RDI=8 % | 100 RDI=20 % | 1,380 RDI=70 % | 5,790 RDI: 70 % |
| Per 100 g | 3 RDI=1 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 9 RDI=1 % | 130 RDI=6 % | 540 RDI: 6 % |
| Per person | 9 RDI=4 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 30 RDI=4 % | 350 RDI=20 % | 1,450 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 4 people : 6.45 €
- Per person : 1.65 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Asparagus
Like these other recipes: How to prepare asparagus, Asparagus and spinach gratin, Filet mignon with asparagus, White asparagus salad, Creamy asparagus and meat timbale, ... See them all 5
Vegetable stock
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Late Winter Soup with Fresh Spinach, Pea risotto "Mantecare", Pork Chops Champvallon style, Curried prawn risotto, Endive and beer soup, ... See them all 19
Liquid cream
Like these other recipes: Cod loin with saffron, The total turnip, The strange gratin, Pan-baked hash brown (Hash-brown casserole), Endive and beer soup, ... See them all 170
Butter
Like these other recipes: Potatoes with prawns, Potatoes with bacon and herbs, Green beans with feta cream and basil, Gâteau Breton (Brittany butter cake), Roscoff loaf, ... See them all 479
Other recipes you may also like
Buckwheat pancakes
Buckwheat pancakes (galettes de sarasin in French) are typical of Brittany and are often served as a savoury dish. They are made with buckwheat flour (a cereal-like seed which is gluten free). July 21th 2015188 K 24.3 15 min.
Boulangère potatoes
This great classic of French home cooking consists of sliced potatoes with slivers of bacon between, on a bed of onion fondue, moistened with poultry (or beef) stock and baked in the oven. It takes a fairly long time, but is so good, and reheats very well. April 5th 202053 K 2 1 hour 40 min.
Chocolate tart
As you can see, there's very little added sugar in this recipe, so it's a very chocolatey and bitter-sweet tart. November 16th 2013305 K 15 2 hours 30 min.
Fresh mint ice-cream
This well-flavoured ice-cream is excellent on its own, or in profiteroles with a chocolate sauce for example. February 21th 2011545 K4.6 1 hour 35 min.
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site. September 16th 2020544 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-10-12)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.