Food Recipes Salads Vegetable Salads Triple-Pea and Asparagus Salad with Feta-Mint Dressing 3.7 (3) 4 Reviews Green, sugar snap, and snow peas mingle with tender asparagus, chewy farro, and a crumbled feta dressing for this verdant vegetable salad. By Hetty McKinnon Updated on July 2, 2024 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen Recipes published by Food & Wine are rigorously tested by the culinary professionals at the Dotdash Meredith Food Studios in order to empower home cooks to enjoy being in the kitchen and preparing meals they will love. Our expert culinary team tests and retests each recipe using equipment and ingredients found in home kitchens to ensure that every recipe is delicious and works for cooks at home every single time. Meet the Food & Wine Test Kitchen Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel Active Time: 25 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe My upbringing in Australia was unequivocally cross-cultural. Growing up in the suburbs of Sydney with Chinese parents, food was the pipeline to our heritage. My mum was a fervent cook, wowing her three hungry children with complex Cantonese flavors from her motherland. Our palates were accustomed to big flavors — stir-fried Asian greens laced with sharp fermented bean curd, steamed "pork cakes" spiked with salted black beans, and hotpots that sang with salient notes of ginger and umami. With these punchy flavors as our dinnertime norm, the day my mum served steak with peas was always going to be memorable. While I still ate and appreciated meat during my early teens, it was the vibrant mound of peas that got my attention. Sure, I had eaten peas in omelets and fried rice before, but I had never experienced peas as a side dish, so naked and unadorned. As I popped them into my mouth, each pea burst with a grassy sweetness that thrilled me. Soon, I would part ways with steak forever, but peas remain one of my ultimate comfort foods. While I enjoy peas all year round (you will always find a bag or two in my freezer for quick pantry meals), there’s sweet relief when the first peas of the season, in all their incarnations, appear. The arrival of green peas, snow peas, sugar snaps, and pea shoots signals promise and renewal, and the chance to reset our mind and our diet with a greener outlook. I usually kick off early summer by excessively gorging on peas. Sugar snaps and snow peas don’t even require cooking — snack on them raw or slice razor thin and add them to salads. And while it’s great to find pre-podded peas, there is something intensely gratifying in methodically tearing open a fresh pod and sliding out the pudgy, tender spheres. — Hetty McKinnon Frequently Asked Questions How do you buy fresh green peas? When purchasing fresh peas, choose pods that are bright green, plump, and on the smaller side — overlarge pods can house starchy peas. Make sure you don’t discard your pods — the empty pea pods can be used to make veggie stock. The Venetian dish risi e bisi, a soupy rice with peas, is traditionally made with pod stock, which delivers an assertive pea flavor. What is this pea salad made of? This salad brings fresh flavors to the plate with confidence and swagger. Barely blanched peas mingle with pan-fried sugar snaps, snow peas, and another of my favorite spring ingredients, asparagus, which are cooked on high heat until just tender yet still crisp with the slightest hint of charring to add smokiness.I’ve chosen farro as the workhorse grain in this salad — its distinct chewy, nutty texture is substantial both to the bite and to the appetite. Salty, lemony, and herbaceous, the feta-mint dressing will likely become your summer stalwart, as it is also perfect served with grilled vegetables, folded through warm pasta, or slathered on crispy roasted potatoes. — Hetty McKinnon Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen This vegetable salad has several cooked components, but the finished dish is served at room temperature. To accomplish this in the shortest time, McKinnon smartly puts the farro on the stove first, which takes about 25 minutes to cook. While the farro is cooking, she blanches the green peas and sautés the sugar snap and snow peas, then the asparagus, setting each aside to cool individually. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 cup uncooked farro 4 cups vegetable stock 1 (6-ounce) block Greek feta cheese 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic, divided 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided 1 tablespoon kosher salt 10 ounces shelled green peas (preferably fresh but frozen OK) 6 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed 6 ounces snow peas, trimmed 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided 8 ounces asparagus, woody stems removed Directions Place the farro in a large pot and cover with the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the farro is soft yet still chewy, about 25 minutes. If there is any liquid left, drain. Let farro cool. While farro cooks, place the block of feta in a shallow bowl. Top with 1/2 cup olive oil, chopped mint, lemon zest and juice, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Using the back of a fork, mash the feta into small chunks. Set aside. Bring a small pot of water and kosher salt to a boil over high. Add the green peas and blanch just until the peas are tender yet still crunchy and bright green, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Drain immediately and let peas cool under cold running water. (Cooling the peas quickly is important to stop them from overcooking and to keep the vibrant green color.) Heat a large skillet over high. When skillet is hot, reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic. Cook until aromatic, about 10 seconds. Add the sugar snap and snow peas. Season with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook, shaking the pan every now and then, until the peas are crisp-tender and bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. (A little bit of charring on the peas is great.) Remove immediately and spread in a single layer to let cool to room temperature. (If left in a pile, they will discolor.) In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the asparagus. Season with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook until just crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan and spread in a single layer to let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Toss together farro, peas, asparagus, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt in a bowl. Spoon the feta mixture over the farro mixture and toss to combine. To serve, top with mint. Rate It Print