Pea

This recipe may look complicated because it has a lot of ingredients, but it’s not. You can prepare the whole dish in the time it takes to cook the rice. I use water chestnuts and pea pods in the recipe, but this is one of those dishes where just about any vegetables you happen to have in the refrigerator will work fine.

This is a delicious low-fat version of a standard curry dish. You might think that low-fat means you won’t be full, but with all the potatoes and chicken in this easy-to-prepare meal, even big eaters will be satisfied. Curry can be a refreshing change especially if you’ve gotten stuck in a culinary rut.

This is how I like tuna casserole, but feel free to make it how you like it. With peas, without peas, with cracker crumbs or crushed potato chips on top, it doesn’t matter, it’s still good. You can also save a few calories by making it with low-fat cream of mushroom soup and you won’t even notice the difference.

I love this dish warm or cold! Just be careful, fresh noodles don’t need to cook very long. If they are overcooked, they will get kind of mushy and loose their texture. This is one of my favorite dishes for those bring-a-dish dinners, because even if there is nothing else I like, I can make a meal out of this.

This is one of my favorite after-school snacks. It tastes great and it makes a lot, so I can eat it for a few days in a row. Although it tastes better cold, I am usually too impatient (and hungry) to wait for it to chill, so I eat it warm the first day and then cold the rest of the time.

This is Megan’s version of split pea soup, my version skips the croutons and includes ham. But, because we occasionally have to make something she will eat, I just add the ham to my bowl. If you don’t have a vegetarian in your house, putting ham or a ham bone in the soup while it is cooking adds a great flavor.

If you’re lucky enough to snag a reservation at Le Grand Véfour, the restaurant that presides over the splendid Palais Royal in Paris, you’ll be treated to a culinary tour de force. In this jewel box of a restaurant, my advice is to sit back and let chef Guy Martin and his staff pamper you like royalty, which they have elevated to an art. When it comes time for dessert, you scan the menu, but… “Can that be right?” you think to yourself, trying to recall snippets of your high school French. Indeed, chef Martin is fond of using vegetables in unexpected ways, often in desserts. But if you’ve ever enjoyed a wedge of carrot cake, you’ll know that it’s not so strange. This ice cream is inspired by a dessert I had at his restaurant: a small, crispy cone filled with bright green ice cream that had the dewy taste of tiny spring peas. At home, in addition to serving it for dessert, I’ve found that it makes a lovely garnish to a bowl of chilled summer soup.

Bite into a freshly fried samosa, and you’ll realize that the quintessential Indian snack is no simple food. When made well, the crisp shell is delicately rich and flaky. The filling inside varies, but a tangy potato mixture is the most common. Many believe that samosas arrived in India via the ancient trade routes that linked West Asia with Central Asia and South Asia. In fact, related pastries are called sanbusak in the Middle East and samsa in Central Asia. Samosas are fabulous alone or with a dab of mint and/or tamarind chutney. Add some chai tea, and you have a perfect snack. Or serve them with a salad for a great lunch. Many cooks use russet (baking) potatoes, but I prefer Yukon Golds for their flavor and cheery yellow color. Choose potatoes of the same size to ensure that they’re done at the same time.

Thai curries differ from northern Indian curries in that they add some typically Thai ingredients, such as dried red chiles, onion, garlic, coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass, and kaffir lime, to the warm Indian spice blends. They are categorized as red, yellow, or green based on the kind of chile or ingredients used in them (but not necessarily by the color of the finished product), and they have an element of sweetness to them that is lacking in some Indian curries. They can be made from scratch, but most Thai home cooks today rely on either commercially prepared pastes or pastes prepared by a vendor down the street. Many supermarkets in the United States carry Thai curry pastes. And if you really want to save time, you can purchase a jar or two of Thai Red Curry Simmer Sauce (Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are two good bets) and save yourself the trouble of doing any mixing at all! Most Thai curries, including this one, should be served with steamed rice.

This brightly colored soup makes a delightful introduction to a summer dinner, or it can be the centerpiece of a light meal accompanied by salad-filled wraps.

Crisp green snow peas lend this soup a pleasant visual and textural twist.

This hearty curry becomes the centerpiece of a satisfying meal served over hot cooked grains, and accompanied by Chapatis (page 158) and a simple, palate-cooling salad of cucumbers and tomatoes.

This classic stew, menestra de verduras, has many regional variations, and can be made with different vegetables according to season. Constant ingredients include potatoes, carrots, and green peas; artichokes are the most characteristic. Fresh artichokes are called for in traditional recipes, but using the canned variety simplifies the process.

Arborio rice, the same rice used in risotto, makes a comforting base for a spring soup, perfect for drizzly spring evenings.

This dairy-free “cream” soup, enhanced with any of the garnishes recommended, makes a hearty (but not heavy) introduction for a spring meal.

Cashew butter makes an offbeat, rich-tasting soup base. This luscious soup is good hot or at room temperature.

If you’re looking for a mild, soothing soup for a rainy spring evening, here’s a pleasant choice.

This light soup of lettuce, cucumber, and fresh spring peas was quite common in nineteenth-century America. Potage maigre translates loosely as “fast day” soup, traditionally made for Lent. Versions of it appear in old Creole cookbooks.

Brimming with fresh produce in a light, mildly seasoned broth, this is just the soup to serve as an introduction to a festive spring meal such as Easter dinner or the Passover seder.

The sweetness of baby carrots and a pretty, pale-orange color make this an uplifting dish for a chilly winter day.