Smoked salmon and mashed pea crostini with goat cheese – an updated take on the classic New England pairing of salmon and peas for the Fourth of July. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Visit just about any Fourth of July backyard cookout – feasts replete with burgers and dogs, ribs, grilled chicken and more kebabs than you can shake a skewer at – and it’s easy to forget that salmon and peas used to be a thing.

Salmon and peas was, in fact, the de rigueur dish for many New Englanders on the Fourth of July. Legend had it that the tradition dated back to Abigail Adams serving salmon and peas to her husband, John, on the first Fourth celebration in 1776, though that myth has since been busted by historians who note that the couple weren’t even in the same city on the day in question.

Still, salmon and peas on the Fourth is a genuine New England tradition, perhaps dating back to the 19th century, and eaten not so much out of fashion as function.

“The dish simply represented what was in season at that time of year, what came from the rivers and the gardens. My father always strived to have his peas ready for the Fourth of July. That was a goal that I think almost everybody had,” said renowned Maine food writer Nancy Harmon Jenkins, who noted that salmon and peas were a popular Independence Day topic when she was growing up in Maine in the 1940s and 50s.

“Actually, I remember people always talking about salmon and peas more than eating it,” Jenkins said. “And very often, when they talked about salmon, they meant a can of Pacific salmon. It would be salmon salad with peas on the side, and the peas would always be done to a fare-thee-well. They would just boil the bejeesus out of them.”

Jenkins still makes salmon and peas on the Fourth, but she roasts fresh, sustainably farmed salmon, bemoaning how the population of Maine salmon – and Atlantic salmon in general – has been severely depleted since the late 19th century. The issue is a prime concern for Maine environmental authorities.

“I’ve been working on salmon issues for 26 years, and I’ve never heard of the tradition of eating salmon and peas,” said Nick Bennett, a staff scientist with the Natural Resources Council of Maine. “That should give you a sense of how far removed we are from the time when these fish were plentiful and could play a significant role in our lives. Maine Atlantic salmon are critically endangered.”

In this 2019 archive photo, a researcher with the Department of Marine Resources looks for Atlantic salmon below the Brookfield Dam at the falls on the Kennebec River below Ticonic Bridge, which links Waterville and Winslow. Now highly endangered, the once plentiful Atlantic salmon were traditionally eaten by New Englanders, with peas, on the Fourth of July. Morning Sentinel photo by Michael G. Seamans

The Penobscot and Kennebec rivers are the only two rivers in the country with significant Atlantic salmon populations, Bennett said. The Penobscot has about 500 adult salmon returning to it annually to spawn, while the Kennebec has only about 50 adult salmon. In the 19th century, each river hosted more than 100,000 salmon in season.

Dams are the main culprit behind the devastated fish populations, Bennett explained. Salmon migrate from the ocean to spawn in rivers each year, swimming upstream, but the dams block them from reaching their spawning habitats.

Bennett cited a study by the National Academy of Sciences that concluded that dam removal is the most critical factor for restoring Atlantic salmon populations. The Natural Resources Council is working to have the first four dams on the Kennebec removed.

“Those four dams provide very little energy, and they’re totally not worth the damage that’s done to salmon and all the migratory fish in Maine rivers,” he said. “We made decisions over the last couple of hundred years that our rivers were more valuable to produce hydromechanical or hydroelectric energy than they were to produce food. And I think that’s something we took too far.”

As for peas, this season’s crop may have been delayed some by the cold, cloudy spring weather, but Kelsey Kobik, a marketing associate with the Maine Federation of Farmers’ markets, said she expects most farmers to have their shell pea harvests ready by the Fourth. She said sugar snap peas are more prevalent these days than green peas, a.k.a. English peas, at Maine farmers markets, mostly due to customer preference and the fact that sugar snaps don’t need to be shelled.

But eating a garden-fresh green pea, before its starches develop and the flavor flattens, is something any food lover needs to experience, Kobik said.

“It’s a really underappreciated crop, but it’s such a special thing,” she said. “Fresh – not frozen – shell peas, they’re just amazing. They pop in your mouth, and they have an awesome fresh, sweet flavor. It’s nothing like the frozen peas you get in a supermarket.”

In addition to taking care to use sustainably sourced salmon – following recommendations from a trusted watchdog authority like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch – the salmon and peas concept as a whole is ready for an update. After all, the insipid white sauce (Jenkins calls it a “weak bechamel”) with sliced hard-boiled eggs that was traditionally served with the dish has largely fallen by the wayside.

“All of these food traditions are disappearing,” Jenkins said. “I grew up in a family that had baked beans every Saturday night throughout the winter, religiously. I’ve mentioned it to friends who’ve moved here, and they are disgusted at the thought.”

Apart from hardcore traditionalists, we’re guessing that most New Englanders these days won’t build their Fourth of July menus around salmon and peas.

So we offer a couple of recipes that let you honor the pairing in modern dishes that don’t need to be the star of the show: a smoked salmon and smashed pea crostini, which makes for an easy and vibrant appetizer, and a salmon, pea and asparagus pasta salad.

Garnish the smoked salmon and mashed pea crostini with dill fronds. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Smoked Salmon and Mashed Pea Crostini

Makes 24 crostini

24 thin slices baguette

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, halved

2 cups fresh or frozen green peas

Kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 ounces goat cheese

6 ounces smoked salmon, cut into small pieces

Fresh dill, for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle the baguette slices with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes or until the bread is toasted and golden. Rub the cut sides of garlic over the tops of crostini. Set aside.

Boil the peas for 1 minute or until just tender, Drain well, place in a bowl of a food processor, season with salt and add lemon zest. Pulse until well mashed. Check seasoning and adjust if needed.

Spread about 1 teaspoon goat cheese over each crostini. Top with about 2 teaspoons pea puree. Top each crostini with a piece of smoked salmon and a small dill frond. Drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Salmon, pea and asparagus pasta salad. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Salmon, Pea and Asparagus Pasta Salad

This dish is the perfect use for leftover salmon that you don’t want to reheat. Substitute green beans for asparagus, or bacon for pancetta, if you prefer.

Serves 8-10

1 (16-ounce) box farfalle or other short pasta

12 ounces asparagus, trimmed

1 ½ cups fresh or frozen green peas

12 ounces skinless, boneless and sustainably sourced salmon

Kosher or sea salt

4 ounces diced pancetta

2 cups whole Greek yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain well, set aside.

Cook the asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and place briefly in an ice bath to set the color and texture; drain well. Chop into 1-inch pieces.

Cook the peas in boiling water 1 minute or until just tender. Drain and place briefly in an ice bath to set color and texture; drain well.

Season the salmon with salt. Roast at 375 degrees for 10 minutes or until the desired degree of doneness.

Cook the pancetta in a small pan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until crisp, stirring often. Remove from the fat and let drain.

Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, olive oil and lemon juice in a medium mixing bowl. Season with salt to taste.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pasta, asparagus, peas and red onion; toss well. Stir in the pancetta, yogurt mixture and herbs; toss well. Break salmon into small chunks and stir gently into the pasta mixture.