Edamame

While field peas date back to colonial times, edamame—fresh, young soybeans bred for human consumption, not animal feed—are relatively new to North Carolina, recently promoted to farmers here as a new crop to help replace tobacco. They make a good appetizer for a pea-shelling party since you can actually eat them on the side while shelling the peas for the main course.

The contrasting bright green edamame, shiny black beans, and snow-white feta cheese in this dish will please your eyes as well as your palate.

The lemon and dill vinaigrette is a wonderful complement to the flavors of this salad.

Soybeans are the only complete vegetable protein, delivering all nine of the amino acids that help build fat-burning muscle.

Wheat Free Yep, green burgers. This recipe makes a lot, but they freeze well, so you can have green burgers all week long!

Swapping chickpeas for edamame gives your go-to party dip a new flavor twist—and a festive green hue—while still packing in plenty of filling fiber and protein.

This textural celebration of legumes includes those that are both in and out of pods. You'll find crisp-tender Romano beans and green beans, as well as droves of firm yet creamy fava beans (also called broad beans), which have been a staple in places like Egypt, China, and the Mediterranean for millennia. The beans are all cooked in one pot and then warmed in a skillet, where verdant shreds of basil join them at the last minute for extra oomph. Sound easy? That's because it is.

Make this salad for lunch but serve it hot at dinner first. To give kids extra protein at lunch, add 1/2 cup finely chopped cold cooked chicken and round it out with a small whole-wheat roll and an apple.

Springtime in Tuscany means eating young green fava beans with salty, nutty crumbles of Pecorino Toscano—a firm sheep's-milk cheese. That favorite snack was a jumping-off point for these savory little toasts. Fresh arugula, both puréed and roughly chopped, punctuates the spread with spice and texture. If you can't get your hands on fresh fava beans, frozen edamame work well, too.

Full of garden vegetables and pasta, this soup relies on a bright basil-and-parsley-based sauce (the pistou) for a last-minute explosion of herbal flavor.

Forget deep-fried noodles: Miso dressing gives this hearty vegetable meal flavor minus the saturated fat.

This spicy soup from Shawn McClain, chef at Green Zebra in Chicago, is rich in immunity-enhancing vitamin A.

Korean hot-pepper paste gives this Asian-inspired dish not only heat but also full, deep flavor. Rich with umami, edamame and buckwheat noodles satisfy even the heartiest appetites.

This dish from Shawn Edelman of Ruby Foo's serves up a third of your daily requirement of vitamin C.

A salad from your pantry and fridge: Canned and frozen beans are the secret behind this attractive mix that includes crunchy celery and earthy cumin.

This salad is great for picnics. It has all the components of a family favorite: beautiful color, satisfying crunch, and a delicious dressing. The recipe is adapted from one developed by freelance recipe tester Penelope Hoblyn, who often makes the salad for large gatherings.

This light starter can be prepared ahead of time and is a smart alternative to fussy holiday hors d'oeuvres. It has an unbelievably fresh flavor, even when made with frozen soybeans.

Since lima and fava beans have a shorter growing season than most local tomatoes, we've given frozen edamame, available year-round, as an alternative to make this recipe more versatile.

You may be curious about why we chose to include edamame (fresh soybeans), which are often associated with Asian cuisine, in this all-American succotash recipe. Soybeans are actually a patriotic legume: They're the second largest crop produced in this country. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Edamame are fun to eat, the slightly fuzzy bright-green pods tickle your lips as you gently suck the beans into your mouth. Provide bowls for the empty pods.

A colorful and delicious side dish reminiscent of succotash.