"Green peas were considered a great delicacy," says Edna Lewis in The Taste of Country Cooking.

Here, a velvety sauce studded with salty nuggets of country ham strengthens, rather than hides, the meaty savor of asparagus.

After this cobbler has been in the oven for about 20 minutes, your kitchen will be filled with the winy fragrance of blackberries.

These crescent-shaped, fruit-filled pastries are found at church picnics, crossroads country stores, and, if you are incredibly blessed, in your favorite aunt's hot cast-iron skillet. ...

Miss Lewis first developed this recipe as a way of jazzing up canned green beans, which she appreciated for their economy.

This "assembly of greens," as Miss Lewis would say, has a supple texture that works nicely with cornmeal dumplings.

Residents of Brunswick, Georgia, and Brunswick County, Virginia, are both fiercely protective of the provenance of this dish.

"Smothering" means braising a tough cut of meat to tenderize it. Slow simmering also concentrates the flavor of the gravy.

They were a startling couple. But even today, nearly two years after Edna Lewis's death, Scott Peacock says that she still makes him the man—and the chef—that he is....

We're delighted to share this previously unpublished essay by the late Edna Lewis—one of America's most resonant and evocative food writers.