Recipe: Perfect potage printanier

Ideal for just-picked peas and the babiest of carrots. It comes from Elizabeth David’s Summer Cooking. Mrs David’s recipes were recently re-evaluated against our celebrity chefs and other assorted culinary prima donnas, and still came out on top.

llb potatoes

½ cup hot milk

A handful of shelled green peas

6 very small carrots, diced

Boil the potatoes in two pints of water. Sieve them, and season them with salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg to make a purée. Add the hot milk and potato water if needed. Cook the peas and carrots in this base for no more than five minutes until tender. When serving, stir in chopped parsley or chives and a nice lump of butter. Eat outside with hot French bread and unsalted butter.