Composed Pea Salad

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

Make this sunny spring salad when you have the absolute freshest peas possible—either those you’ve picked yourself or bought today at the farmstand or market—along with tender pea greens.

On each of four plates spread ½ cup of fresh local ricotta cheese (from Mozzarella House, Maplebrook Farms or Narraganset Creamery) and sprinkle with ½ cup of sugar snap peas cut lengthwise into canoes, a handful of freshly shelled English peas and some pea tendrils or greens. Scatter with purple microgreens, picked baby dill, a few edible flowers (like johnnie jump-ups, chive blossoms or mini pansies) and some minced chives. Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, aged sweet cider vinegar and plenty of flaky sea salt and pepper.

But these are just suggestions; you can swap many ingredients here for a different pea salad every week of pea season! Trade the ricotta for whipped feta, labne or goat cheese. Or even a burrata! Use finely chopped toasted hazelnuts instead of pistachios. Add cucumbers if you like, or shaved asparagus or pickled spring onions. In addition to the dill, try mint leaves, tarragon or shaved fennel bulb, crisped up in an ice water bath. A smear of roasted cashew butter could stand in for the cheese to make this a vegan dish. The options are limitless as long as the peas are fresh and abundant. Enjoy the season.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2020 issue as part of a larger story on Peas.