8 Recipes From 3-Time James Beard Award Winner Gregory Gourdet
The "Top Chef" star shares recipes for pikliz, taro fritters, and a chicken stew he says is the essence of Haiti.
Perhaps you fell for Gregory Gourdet through his star turns on Top Chef, his James Beard Award-winning cookbook Everyone's Table: Global Recipes for Modern Health, his Portland, Oregon, restaurant Kann (which won a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and earned him a Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific win), Maybe you read the stunning profile of him in the August 2023 issue of Food & Wine or appreciated his frank talk about recovery on the Tinfoil Swans podcast. If you're a longtime fan of Gregory Gourdet or finding out about him for the first time, you'll find a lot to love in his recipes that celebrate the vibrant joy of Haitian cuisine.
Whether it's classic dishes like Poul Nan Sos (a chicken stew he calls "thrilling"), Diri ak Sos Pwa (deeply spiced beans and rice), or staples and building blocks like pikliz, jerk, and epis, Gourdet's recipes will set fire to your senses and your soul. Find your new favorite Gregory Gourdet recipe below.
Epis-Rubbed Steelhead Trout
José Mandojana
Epis is a building block of flavor for many Haitian recipes, so this is an excellent recipe to have in your repertoire. Gourdet's rendition is a riot of Scotch bonnet chile, lime, thyme, parsley, bell peppers, garlic, and other skillfully balanced notes of heat, acid, and alliums, making it the ideal complement to tender, flaky Steelhead trout. Use any extra for a wake-the-senses Poul Nan Sos, or plenty more stews, meats, and fish dishes.
Diri ak Sos Pwa (Haitian Rice with Bean Sauce)
Jose Mandojana
Rice and beans are a universal language, and Gourdet's expression of the Haitian rendition is saucy, smooth, pungent, and perfect. He blends dark red kidney beans with alliums, cloves, hot chiles, and thyme to lavish atop fluffy jasmine rice for a satisfying meal.
Akra (Crispy Taro Root Fritters) with Caviar and Remoulade
José Mandojana
As if freshly-fried herb-and-chile-packed taro root fritters weren't tempting enough, Gourdet adds a little extra luxury in the addition of sumptuous remoulade and a pop of caviar.
Red Chile Jerk–Spiced Roasted Sweet Plantains
José Mandojana
Gourdet's sweet, spicy, ginger-kicked red chile jerk sauce is a flex all its own, but paired with plantains that are grill-roasted to make them extra tender and luscious, you'll win the cookout every time. Not that it's a competition. (It's totally a competition.)
Tomato Salad with Coconut Dressing
Jose Mandojana
Be careful making Gourdet's pickled stone fruit and tomato salad, because you'll find yourself pining for it year-round, even after peaches, berries, and other fresh elements are a season or two away. A spicy, tart coconut dressing and generous quantities of fresh herbs make this a must when the markets allow.
Pineapple and Tamarind Cooler
José Mandojana
Sweet pineapple maple syrup, sour tamarind and lime, and zippy rim of salt and homemade habanero powder make this nonalcoholic punch a natural pairing with any of his dishes — or an endlessly pleasing sipper at a party or on a porch.
Poul Nan Sos (Haitian Chicken in Sauce)
According to Gourdet, "This dish is Haiti, something we make time and time again. I suspect you will, too." Growing up, his grandmother would start the dish the night before, marinating the chicken in onions, garlic, thyme, and chiles, and then "forcefully" rubbing citrus into the skin to impart the full flavor of the oils. The marinade also serves as the cooking liquid, and it's chock full of bell peppers for a stew that Gourdet calls "thrilling."
Pikliz (Haitian Spicy Pickled Cabbage)
José Mandojana
Gourdet notes that pikliz is basically a given at any Haitian table. The vibrant carrot, cabbage, and onion mixture picks up a magenta hue after a day's soak in vinegar, lime, and hot chiles, so plan ahead. The flavor will deepen the longer it marinates, and the vegetables retain their crisp bite. The condiment will keep for up to a month refrigerated.
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