Pea Shoot

This lighter take on cold spinach soup gets its rich texture from potatoes instead of the traditional cream. Lamb’s quarters grow wild and are sometimes considered a weed, but they taste like chard or spinach when cooked. Pea shoots are the young leaves and tendrils of pea plants (shown below). Long used in Chinese cooking, pea shoots have a strong, fresh pea flavor.

This soup is equally delicious served hot or chilled.

This is a mash-up of my French and Japanese influences, with a very American meat-and-pasta sensibility. "Scaloppini" refers, of course, to a thin cut of meat, which here is Gardein, a vegan substitute that's a great transitional food for meat-eaters. Instead of European wine, this sauce calls for sake, and shiitakes are swapped in for traditional button mushrooms. The udon noodle cakes and pea shoots are another Asian touch, but the overall complexity and lushness of the dish give it a French feel.

We found the greens for this salad by foraging in the woods and fields. You can forage farmers’ markets for tender young dandelion greens, purslane, wild fennel, and pea shoots to make a tasty salad. Even your refrigerator or kitchen garden might yield some goodies, like chives, tender young Italian parsley, thinly sliced red cabbage, or the yellow leaves from celery hearts.

This summer side cooks quickly, so the veggies retain their nutrients.

You can find crisp, delicate pea shoots in the spring at farmers' markets, Asian markets, and some specialty foods stores.

Food editor Maggie Ruggiero became enamored of a sesame-dressed salad at Donguri, a Japanese home-cooking restaurant in New York City. This is her take on it. Because the sesame seeds are unhulled, they have a richness that flatters the freshness of spring vegetables—here, cool kohlrabi and sweet pea shoots.

For a vegetarian version, use 24 ounces extra-firm tofu instead of chicken, and increase the soy sauce to 2/3 cup and the vinegar to 1/2 cup. Serve with brown rice or soba noodles.

Pea tendrils or shoots are available at Asian markets. Or substitute baby bok choy cut into thin strips.

Start this dish at least 4 hours ahead. The chicken can also marinate overnight. What to drink: A delicate white wine with floral aromas, like Pinot Gris from Austria or Alsace.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Tatsoi, mizuna, and pea shoots are available at Asian markets as well as at some specialty foods shops and farmers markets. If you have trouble finding any of these greens, packaged organic baby Asian salad mix (such as Earthbound Farm brand) is an excellent substitute and can be found at most supermarkets. (Buy three 5-ounce packages.)

·Bear in mind you should only eat the flowering shoots of the garden pea, Pisum sativum. Don't try to cook with the flowering shoots of sweet peas from your flower garden — they're poisonous.