Peas

By Food & Wine
Updated October 04, 2016
From creamy chilled spring pea soup to pea-and-bacon risotto, here are beautiful pea recipes.
Start Slideshow

1 of 25

Peas and Pea Shoots with Spring Onions and Mint

Credit: PHOTO © PAUL COSTELLO
Go to Recipe

“Come March, it’s no longer possible to be inspired by root vegetables,” says chef Mike Lata. “You’ve done everything you can.” When spring finally arrives, he uses delicate peas and pea shoots to make this simple side dish. “Cooking in the spring is like make-up sex after the bitter fight with winter,” he says.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 25

Vinegar-Braised Chicken with Leeks and Peas

Credit: © JONNY VALIANT
Go to Recipe

This chicken dish is elegant enough for entertaining and easy enough for a simple weeknight dinner.

3 of 25

Chilled Spring Pea Soup

Credit: Quentin Bacon
Go to Recipe

Daniel Boulud's deliciously light and clean-tasting soup—a mix of sweet peas, favas, pea shoots, snap peas and snow peas—is on the menu each spring at his Café Boulud in New York City. An easier method is to skip the labor-intensive fresh favas, as well as the snow peas and pea shoots. Instead, just use sugar snaps and frozen baby peas.

Advertisement

4 of 25

Pea-and-Bacon Risotto

Go to Recipe

Tom Colicchio pairs chef James Tracey's pea-bacon risotto with Mark Tarlov's Oregon Pinot Noir: "It was great to find someone who was excited about creating a house wine"

5 of 25

Spring Peas with Mint

Go to Recipe

Vinegary dishes and wine can be a terrible combination. But the sharp chopped red onion Mark Ladner tosses with these tangy peas makes the recipe delicious with a lightly tannic red.

6 of 25

Burrata with Speck, Peas and Mint

Go to Recipe

Pairing Suggestion: Refreshing Italian sparkling wine: NV Mionetto Prosecco di Valdobbiadene.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 25

Baby Peas with Bacon and Crispy Leeks

Go to Recipe

8 of 25

Pea-and-Parsnip Vichyssoise with Tarragon

Go to Recipe

9 of 25

Cucumber and Baby Pea Salad

Credit: JOHN KERNICK
Go to Recipe

This green salad contains no lettuce and no vinaigrette—just cucumbers, peas, parsley and basil in a tangy yogurt dressing.

More Amazing Green Salads

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 25

Blistered Snap Peas with Mint

Credit: © FREDRIKA STJÄRNE
Go to Recipe

Get a skillet really, really hot before adding the snap peas; they make a fun popping sound when they hit the pan. Then put the skillet straight into a hot oven, tossing the peas every few minutes so they don’t burn.

11 of 25

Pea Porridge with Fresh Cheese and Ham

Go to Recipe

Chefs Bowman Brown and Viet Pham make this creamy, tangy porridge from sweet peas and yogurt.

12 of 25

Green Pea Samosas

Credit: © Marcus Nilsson
Go to Recipe

Sanjeev Chopra has advice for filling his delightful vegetarian samosas: "Mash the peas, but not too finely; you want little pieces, for texture." He makes his own buttery dough, but frozen empanada wrappers, widely available in supermarkets, are an excellent substitute.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 25

Ginger-Miso Sweet Pea Spread

Credit: DAVID MALOSH
Go to Recipe

As a dairy-free alternative to creamy dips, the recipe here calls for pureeing sweet peas with scallions, ginger and jalapeño, then seasoning the mix with yellow miso. Serve the spread with different kinds of crackers and breads or sugar snap peas and celery for dipping.

14 of 25

Pea Consommé with Mint

Go to Recipe

This delicate broth is full of vitamin C, thanks to the pea pods Jeremy Fox simmers. He tops the consommé with shards of white chocolate because he likes the way it brings out the peas' sweetness while adding only a little fat.

15 of 25

Sugar Snap Peas with Soffrito, Hot Pepper and Mint

Go to Recipe

"It's hard to improve upon a perfect sugar snap pea," says chef Travis Lett. "The question for the chef is, how do you not screw it up?" Lett's answer is to keep things simple, by cooking the sweet peas with fresh mint, crushed red pepper and soffrito (an aromatic Italian mix of sautéed minced vegetables, usually used to flavor soups and sauces).

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 25

Orecchiette with Pancetta, Peas and Fresh Herbs

Go to Recipe

17 of 25

Three-Pea Salad

Go to Recipe

This combination of sugar snap peas, snow peas and green peas—dressed in a sherry vinaigrette blended with a touch of sour cream—is clever and delicious. It can be made into a main course by adding shaved Manchego cheese and serrano ham.

18 of 25

Minty Peas and Carrots

Go to Recipe

Cooked with shallots and butter, this easy side dish of peas and carrots tastes luxuriously rich. Mint adds a pleasant herby freshness here; anise-scented tarragon would be delicious too.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 25

Spinach-and-Green-Pea Empanadas

Credit: Fredrika Stjärne
Go to Recipe

Mauricio Couly uses a mix of spinach, fava beans, green beans and a good amount of mint. He makes his own paprika-spiced empanada dough; store-bought empanada wrappers (available in the freezer section of many supermarkets and specialty food stores) work well, too.

20 of 25

Penne with Asparagus, Sage and Peas

Go to Recipe

For a simple spring dish, chef Cindy Pawlcyn folds penne with asparagus and sweet English peas, then adds a little cream for richness.

21 of 25

Pea Tortilla with Mint and Yogurt

Credit: © John Kernick
Go to Recipe

A Spanish tortilla is like a frittata. Francis Mallmann makes a lovely spring version with yogurt, fresh mint and sweet peas, baked in an oven (preferably a wood-fired oven) until just set. It's delicious served warm or at room temperature.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 25

Garden Pea Soup with Morel Cream

Go to Recipe

At his restaurant, Daniel Humm serves his wonderful sweet pea soup "cappuccino-style," with a topping of morel cream that's been frothed with an immersion blender. The recipe here simply calls for swirling the cream into the soup. Indeed, the cream is so intensely mushroomy, you may be tempted to eat it on its own.

23 of 25

Spring Pea Falafel with Marinated Radishes and Minted Yogurt

Go to Recipe

Instead of deep-frying the falafel patties, Nicki Reiss sautés them in a lightly oiled pan. And she serves them with a low-fat yogurt sauce instead of the usual rich sesame-based tahini.

24 of 25

Arugula-and-Frisée Salad with Peas, Pistachios and Pecorino

Go to Recipe

The bright spring flavors of peas and mint convey energy. Adding salty roasted pistachios and shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese to the salad give it a great nuttiness.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 25

Peas and Carrots with Two Onions

Go to Recipe

This delicious old-fashioned dish features peas and carrots in a lightly thickened, buttery thyme-infused sauce.

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

By Food & Wine