He was orphaned during the Ethiopian Civil War of the 1970s. Adopted by a Swedish family, he grew up in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he credits his grandmother, Helga, for his love of cooking. Trained in the culinary arts in Sweden, Austria, France and Switzerland, he landed an apprenticeship at the Swedish restaurant Aquavit in New York City and immigrated to the United States at age 24 with $300 in his pocket. He quickly won accolades for his culinary genius– recipient of a James Beard Foundation award as “Best New Chef/NYC” in 2003, author of best-selling cookbooks, guest chef at Barack Obama’s first state dinner in 2009 and on an on.
Marcus Samuelsson’s story is yet another American immigrant success story.
And now Samuelsson is giving back. During the pandemic, he converted three of his restaurants into community kitchens and, in partnership with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen and Audible, has served more than 250,000 meals to first responders and the needy.
Here is a PBS profile that was done of Samuelsson by Judy Woodruff and Jeffrey Brown on the occasion of the publication of Samuelsson’s 2020 cookbook The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food. Here is the link: Marcus Samuelsson. It’s an interesting interview and worth your time to watch and listen.
Here is a Samuelsson recipe for Black-Eyed Peas With Coconut Milk and Ethiopian Spices. It’s wonderful!
Black-Eyed Peas With Coconut Milk and Ethiopian Spices
Ingredients
- 2 C. dried black-eyed peas
- Kosher Salt
- 4 T. unsalted butter
- 1 large red onion (minced)
- 1 1/2 T. fresh ginger (peeled and minced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 habanero chile (seeded and minced--I used a serrano chile because that is what I had)
- 2 t. berbere seasoning (or to your taste--berbere is hot! See recipe below if you can't find the spice premade)
- 1 t. ground turmeric
- 3 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 C. coconut milk
- 1 C. vegetable broth
- 1/3 C. chopped cilantro
- 2 green onions (thinly sliced)
- Garnish of sliced tomato, additional cilantro and green onions)
Directions
- Step 1 Cook dried black-eyed peas. I used my Instant Pot. I rinsed the peas and soaked them overnight in water to cover. The next day, I drained the peas, covered them in fresh water and cooked them for 20 minutes in the Instant Pot. Alternatively, you could rinse the dried peas, cover them with water and bring them to a boil in a large pot. Once the peas boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes until the peas are thoroughly cooked but still retain their shape. Remove the peas from the heat, add a generous pinch of salt and let the peas sit on the counter for about 5 minutes before draining and using.
- Step 2 Using a large saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the onion, ginger, garlic and chile until softened and beginning to brown. This will take about 10 minutes. Stir in the berbere seasoning and turmeric and cook until the mixture is fragrant. This will take about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes until the mixture is softened. Stir in the coconut milk and broth and cook over moderately-low heat until the sauce thickens. Stir from time to time. Cook for about 20 minutes.
- Step 3 Stir the cooked peas into the sauce. Cook over moderately-low heat for about 10 minutes until the peas are hot and lightly-coated with the sauce. Stir in the cilantro and scallions. Serve garnished with additional tomato and cilantro.
In case you can’t find berbere seasoning, here is a link to Samuelsson’s recipe: berbere.
This recipe is an adaptation of one that appeared in Food and Wine Magazine. Here is the link to the original recipe: Black-Eyed Peas.
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