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In my world, the changing of seasons is marked not by the date or temperature swings, but what the harvest brings and what’s piled high on the farmers market tables. Especially now living in the Midwest, these changes feel more sudden (and welcome after a long, dark and dreary winter). As the seasons change from winter to spring, the colors go from orange and yellow citrus to bright, vibrant greens, vegetables piled high and the smell of fresh herbs in the air, replacing hearty root vegetables with delicate produce picks that bring new life to my kitchen.
My first clue that springtime is approaching is the arrival of sweet peas at the local market, a vegetable I’ll happily eat an entire bag of without blinking an eye. Suddenly, I’ve replaced my midday snack of popcorn or nuts with a bowl of sugar snap peas. I find myself going through pounds upon pounds of peas in any given week, adding them to salads, dipping them in hummus or even grilling them with a squeeze of lemon juice. But mostly I’m standing at the refrigerator snacking on them any chance I get, often resulting in my husband and son looking at an empty bag on the counter (perhaps I have to work on my sharing skills).
While they are my preferred snack, peas can be used in so many ways. They make a wonderful base for salads, stir fries and side dishes, a wilt-free vibrant green lunch that is perfect at your work desk, or a side dish at a picnic in the park. When the weather is pleasant but not too hot, I retire my recipes for warming soups and stews and replace it with hearty salads that bridge the gap between winter and summer.
I’m always looking for an excuse to make a meal-worthy salad that can be both a side dish and main, a dish you can take to a potluck or eat at your desk, satisfying a wide array of dietary requirements.
Like many of my salad recipes, I try to make them hearty enough to be a stand-alone meal, full of flavor and, above all, delicious. In this lettuce-free salad, sweet peas shine as the main ingredient and are bulked up with protein-packed edamame beans, a freezer staple in my house, with fresh springy mint and parsley, nutty pistachios and briny feta tossed with a zesty, zippy lemon sumac vinaigrette.
This green and herby salad is the ultimate spring-time chameleon. Feel free to substitute snow peas for sugar snap peas, and use any nut or seed you have on hand for the pistachios. No edamame beans? Use defrosted frozen green peas or freshly shelled English peas. Any green leafy herb combination works well, from basil to chives, and omit the feta cheese, if preferred (although I do think that most things benefit from its briny tang). Want it even heartier? Add cooked brown rice, quinoa or even orzo pasta. This salad will last up to four days in the fridge, so prep ahead for the start of spring!
Herby Edamame and Snap Pea Salad with Feta
Serves: 4
Total time: 25 minutes
Salad
- 8 oz. sugar snap peas, thinly sliced diagonally
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias
- ½ cup edamame beans, shelled and cooked
- ¼ cup dill, chopped
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup mint leaves, torn
- ¼ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
- 3 Tbs. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. sumac
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
For the salad: In a large bowl, combine the snap peas, green onions, edamame beans, dill, parsley, mint, pistachios and feta.
For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, sumac and salt. Add the olive oil, stirring until well combined. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.