Edible Archive: James Beard's Green Pea Salad

James Beard wrote over 20 cookbooks, taught hundreds of classes, and contributed to numerous publications over the course of his four-decade career. With a namesake that prolific, it’s no surprise that we often receive requests for Beard recipes published long ago. In our quest to answer these Beard enthusiasts, we often find a treasure trove of materials in our archives, a piece of which we’re sharing here today.

A reader asked: I have loved and followed James Beard recipes since I first began cooking in 1972. One of my favorite recipes was from a Gourmet magazine for Green Pea Salad that Mr. Beard contributed around that time. I lost the recipe many years ago and have never been able to find it. Do you by any chance have it in your records? If so I would be so grateful if you could send it to me.

A bit of searching lead us to this recipe for Green Pea Salad, published in the New James Beard (Knopf, 1981). This straightforward dish highlights the seasonal delicacy of young green peas, cooking the peas just enough to tenderize them while retaining some bite, and then serving them on a bed of fresh salad greens and herbs. Get the recipe.

Hungry for more? View our entire recipe collection.