I’m an adamant (dare I admit to obstinate?) believer that salads and their vegetable side dish counterparts can and should be more than an afterthought or something eaten out of obligation, instead of actual desire. In fact, I have the most stellar collection of ultra filling, colorful, and creative salads in my cookbook. While we wait for it to come out, I’ll be continuing to share new, useful, and delicious salad recipes here, this potato, pea, and lentil salad included! You can serve this decadent-tasting but still healthy pea salad as a side dish with dinner, then take the leftovers with you the next day for lunch. It’s elegant enough to be worthy of an Easter meal. I even have several tasty ideas for the leftovers, including one involving leftover Easter ham, which my family seems to accrue with dividends every year. This is not your mother’s pea salad recipe. Unless your mother makes hers with warm bacon dressing, in which case, what time is dinner? Pea Salad of the creamy and classic Pioneer Woman variety is a Midwest potluck staple. For today’s recipe, however, I was craving something more elevated. Made with no other equipment besides a skillet, this recipe still qualifies as an easy peasy pea salad, but its play of flavors and textures makes it taste like a side you’d order in a restaurant.
A Super Spring Pea Salad
If the word “peas” triggered bad childhood flashbacks (how many more bites until I can have dessert??), this next-level salad recipe will change your mind. Say bye-bye to the scarring canned veggies of youth. This one is an entirely new experience thanks to:
Lentils. Unexpected yet so stellar paired with peas. They’re creamy, filling, and do a primo job absorbing the bacon dressing, giving you richness in every bite. Bacon. A core ingredient in all self-respecting Midwestern “salads”, and the surest way to convince even the staunchest pea skeptics.
The bacon in this recipe is used in three ways:
Sprinkled on top in big, crispy pieces that your guests will silently try to hog.To sauté the potatoes (they’ll cook in the leftover bacon drippings).To make a warm dressing for drizzling over the top.
If the very mention of warm bacon dressing didn’t make you want to make this pea salad recipe immediately, then perhaps this next ingredient will.
Crispy Potatoes. Golden on the outside, creamy on the inside, and cooked until golden in bacon drippings.Peas. The essence of spring. You can fuss with shelling your own or do as I do and buy them frozen. They are just as nutritious and a true time saver.Grainy Mustard, Chives, and Vinegar. These three work in tandem to balance the richness of the bacon and potatoes and make the salad fresh and zippy.
This lentil pea salad recipe hails from a new (to me) cookbook Dining In by Alison Roman. In addition to the Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies that broke the internet back when the book first came out (if you haven’t tried them, you must!), I’ve cooked three recipes from this cookbook in the span of a week, and none disappoint. Like this warm salad, the recipes are elevated enough to be something I could find in a restaurant, but none have been overly fussy or difficult. My kind of meal!
Ways to This Warm Spring Pea Potato Salad
This recip will leave you feeling accomplished. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve it and to enjoy the leftovers too.
Warm Pea Salad. Serve it hot, as soon as it’s ready.Room Temperature (or Cold) Pea Salad. In addition to being yummy served warm, this salad actually tastes great at room temperature, so it’s ideal for potlucks and buffets.Add Ham. Cut leftover ham (Easter!) into bite-size pieces and lightly crisp the pieces in a skillet with some olive oil. Stir into the salad. We had the leftovers for dinner this way, and it made for a stellar all-in-one meal.Pea Salad with Lettuce. Toss the leftovers with greens (arugula would be delicious) and a few extra splashes of vinegar and olive oil to turn it into a hearty entrée salad.Vegan Pea Salad. While you will miss the salty somethin’ somethin’ from the bacon, if you’ll be serving this recipe to vegetarian or vegan guests, you can omit it and sauté the potatoes in a generous amount of olive oil instead. Since bacon is salty, season the salad with additional salt. It will still be delish!
More Slam-Dunk Salads That Taste Great at Room Temperature
Italian Farro SaladMediterranean Chickpea SaladCreamy Cucumber SaladArugula Pasta Salad with Goat Cheese and Tomato
