Bean and Legume

This salad can be made with raw fava beans, as long as they're especially fresh. But blanching them quickly makes them much easier to peel.

"I like the fact that just three or four main ingredients can make a smashing result," says van Boven about this sweet and crunchy salad.

This textured spread is great served with cured meats. If you wind up with leftovers, use it on sandwiches.

"Battering and frying green beans makes them addictive, obviously!" —Sue Li, recipe developer

"As a kid, I loved frenched green beans drenched in butter! Here, in a creamy raw slaw atop barely hardboiled eggs, they're all grown up." —Allie Lewis Clapp, food editor

Top these Tex-Mex–inspired burgers with some melted Monterey Jack and a spoonful of fresh salsa.

"Paris chef Alain Passard, who is famous for unusual pairings, inspired this dish." —Chris Morocco, associate food editor

Pea shoots are the young, tender tips and vines of the snow pea or the sugar snap pea plant. Once your plants are established and producing an abundance of pods, clip off leaf and tendril sections about 4 inches (10 cm) long. If you don't have your own plants, look for these tender shoots at farmers' markets or Asian grocery stores. Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chile paste, and tart, citrusy makrut lime leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking.

Thai red curry paste typically has more than eight different ingredients, including hot red pepper and lemongrass, so buying it ready- made is certainly easier than making your own. Look for it in the ethnic foods section of your supermarket or at Asian grocers. You can add 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, to the curry during the last few minutes of cooking, if you wish.

A stunning, veggie-packed bowl of spring goodness.

This satisfying salad is great alongside broiled fish, roast chicken, or a simple steak. To turn it into a vegetarian meal, fold in sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Bloomfield loves making this salad with black mint, which you'll find in spring and summer at farmers' markets.

The pleasantly earthy flavor of black rice pairs well with the bright acidity of this vinaigrette. If you can't find it, use wild rice instead.

Gondi—the word is a bawdy Persian expression for a certain part of the male anatomy—is a favorite food in many Iranian Jewish homes. These light, cardamom-scented dumplings look like matzo balls, but instead of matzo meal, they're made from ground chicken or turkey and chickpea flour. To get a clear, unclouded soup broth, cook the gondi in a separate pot of chicken stock, and then add them to the soup broth when serving. For a more casual presentation, cook the gondi in the same pot with the other soup ingredients. You can make the gondi dough the day before, and store it in the refrigerator.

Faced with a cup of just-shucked peas, my mind runs in a million directions. Should I simmer them with soft butter lettuce leaves, pair them with pasta, or flatter their delicacy with new sage leaves and their blossoms, fresh mint, or lemon (or even all three)? Basil is lovely with peas, too. I could add them to that meager handful of fava beans that are waiting for company, or use them to make a frothy green soup. After scanning the possibilities, I end up cooking them with minced shallot, sage, and lemon, then spooning them over baked ricotta with crispy bread crumbs. This is one of my favorite dishes.

Risotto only sounds intimidating—if you can stir, you can make it. Poaching the eggs ahead of time should quell any lingering performance anxiety.

Muddled peas add a fresh twist.

With favas, you have two choices: Buy fresh, or buy frozen ones at Middle Eastern markets.

This is a far cry from army-green split pea soup. Cooking the peas briefly retains their vibrant color, and the addition of fresh herbs keeps the finished soup looking and tasting bright. Delicious warm or chilled, it's a springtime staple.