Cretonnée de pois nouveaulx ou de fèves nouvelles : cuisiez-les jusques au purer, et les purez, puis prenez lait de vache bien frais, [...] puis broiez premièrement gingembre pour donner appétit, et saffran pour jaunir : jàsoit-ce que qui le veult faire lyant de moieulx d'œufs filés dedans, iceulx moieulx d'œufs jaunissent assez et si font lioison, mais le lait se tourne plus tost de moyeulx d'œufs que de lioison de pain et du safran pour colourer.
Le Ménagier de paris, 95
Cretonée of new peas or new broad beans. Cook the legumes until they are mushy and pour off the liquid. Take fresh cow’s milk […] Grind ginger to whet the appetite and saffron to color it yellow. However, if you want to thicken it with egg yolks, trickle them in. These egg yolks give a satisfactory yellow color, and they also thicken the dish.
Le Ménagier de paris, 95
The author of LM gives us a wide variety of choices to thicken this pottage, but is clear that fresh peas, ground ginger, and whole milk are the important ingredients. LV agrees, but also instructs us to fry the peas in bacon grease after pureeing as an intermediate step. I can only conjecture that this was intended to add flavor by the fat or perhaps also to concentrate flavors by removing the last of the water from the straining. I preserved this step, but chose to use butter, which is rare but attested, to keep the dish vegetarian-friendly. LM and LV both suggest saffron for color if needed. I was content with the color, so I did not include it. LV insists on egg yolks as the thickener – a great deal of them stirred into the boiling soup at the end. This likely resulted in fully cooked yolks, and with enough skill and effort, a smooth, thickened soup, however we will turn again to modern methods and standards of food safety to achieve the same effect.
Both the cooking time and the choice of green peas (then Pisum sativum, now Lathyrus oleraceus) are verified by Chantran’s reproductive archaeological experiments regarding cooking methods of starch (2021.) Modern garden peas are sweeter than green field peas, but I think the dish is well balanced despite this. There is little meaningful flavor difference, and fresh field peas are impossible to find for human consumption. I think, therefore, that the freshness of the garden peas rather than the less sweetness of the available dried field peas is the side to err on.
Fry the peas in the butter to remove any remaining moisture
Add the Milk and Ginger, and bring just to a boil
Return the Cretonée to the pot and cook gently, stirring constantly, to 170°F
Strain the mixture and cool to room temperature before serving