Spring Vegetable Butters (Beurres Printaniers)

Ingredients

• vegetables (carrots, turnips, peas, green beans, asparagus tips, or other seasonal vegetables)
• butter

Instructions

1. Prepare the vegetables according to their type. For root vegetables like carrots or turnips, braise them gently in butter and finish by reducing in their own light stock (étuvés au beurre et tombés au consommé). For green vegetables such as peas, green beans, and asparagus tips, blanch them in water.
2. Once cooked, pound the vegetables together with an equal weight of butter until smooth. Pass the mixture through fine cheesecloth (étamine) to achieve a uniform, silky purée.
3. This butter is used frequently to finish soups and sauces.