It took 4 years for chef Gregory Gourdet to carry to life his dream of Kann, the acclaimed wood-fire Haitian restaurant that merges seasonal Oregon bounty with the meals of his childhood in Queens, New York. From the restaurant’s spacious open kitchen in Portland, Gourdet and his workforce take cues from West Africa and the broader Caribbean to prove creolized interpretations of dishes like akra, a taro fritter, and griyo, Haiti’s iconic citrusy twice-cooked pork dish.
Nevertheless it was whereas engaged on his James Beard Award–successful cookbook, Everybody’s Desk (written with JJ Goode and revealed in 2021), that Gourdet got here to reimagine cooking at residence. “I completed the e book firstly of the pandemic, and it modified me,” he recollects. “We cooks assume every thing is at our fingertips on a regular basis.” Being residence with a restricted ingredient listing compelled Gourdet to contemplate how his future readers may eat. It additionally gave him a chance to replicate on his personal private well being journey, one through which his relationship to meals supported his transition to sobriety and sustaining a balanced life.
For this story, Gourdet developed 5 authentic recipes that show how he cooks at residence now: health-conscious, easy-to-make dishes that keep away from lots of the components he’s delicate to (dairy, gluten, and so on.) whereas additionally hitting various cultural reference factors and paying homage to Kann’s potent taste profiles. These recipes spotlight nutrient-rich superfoods and make sturdy use of a world pantry, one the place fish sauce, Scotch bonnet chiles, and curry powder are as simple to succeed in for as salt and pepper.
“Some might imagine sure components are laborious to seek out,” Gourdet says, “however in actuality folks throughout the Caribbean diaspora—together with African and Southeast Asian cultures—use these meals day by day right here in the USA. Of us ought to embrace a broader perspective on what’s on the market.”
What’s on the market are scrumptious plant-forward dishes rooted in historical past and tradition. “If we now have a stocked pantry and recent components, we will put one thing nutritionally dense and flavorful on the desk. This lets us discover and join with different meals cultures in a easy method.”
Creamy Butternut Squash and Plantain Soup
When the climate will get chilly, the squash will get plentiful at Gourdet’s native farmers market. His workforce served this belly-warming soup in meal kits at his Kann Winter Village pop-up in Portland early within the pandemic. “I all the time have ripe plantains round they usually appeared like the right addition to a winter squash soup,” he says. “Ripe plantains add a caramelized savory notice, which will get balanced out with a topping of shiny, quick-pickled apple.”
Curried Chickpeas and Baked Eggs
At Sousòl, Kann’s fashionable pan-Caribbean basement bar, you’ll discover Gourdet’s tackle doubles, a Trinidadian breakfast mainstay of curried chickpeas wrapped in heat roti. At residence he thought-about a less complicated interpretation, one that will nonetheless work if he didn’t really feel like making the bread. Right here the curry paste comes collectively shortly, imbuing the chickpeas with taste and forming what Gourdet calls “a phenomenal wealthy stew.” Baked eggs and a scattering of zesty cucumbers add each texture and distinction.
Cilantro Roast Cod and Cabbage With Herb Salad
Gourdet spent years cooking in pan-Asian eating places and touring round Asia to find out about components and methods. Right here he marinates cod in a peppery, fish-sauce-kissed paste, glazes roasted cabbage with that very same paste, then hits each with a blast of excessive warmth. No shade to the fish, however the cabbage could be the star of the plate—it’s juicy and simply the correct amount of bitter. “Broiled cabbage is certainly one of my favourite issues,” says Gourdet, “and it’s tremendous economical.”
Caribbean Shepherd’s Pie
“We’ve got a beef patty on the menu at Sousòl, and I imagined how I’d make this at residence if I didn’t really feel like rolling out the dough,” says Gourdet. The end result? A Caribbean-inspired tackle shepherd’s pie that may simply be made forward or reheated as leftovers. Gourdet makes use of a well-seasoned potato mash with coconut milk for gentle sweetness. Ginger, chile, garlic, and tamari lend depth and complexity to this bubbly winter-ready casserole.
Peanut-Butter-Braised Hen and Greens
Haitian previous is current at Kann, and Gourdet’s menu nods usually to the sweeping flavors of West Africa. Impressed by Nigerian staples like groundnut stew, he developed this one-pot dream of fall-apart tender hen thighs and collards braised with chiles, unsweetened peanut butter, and tomatoes in a lush coconut milk broth. In the case of warmth, Scotch bonnet chiles are his desire, however habaneros will work simply superb as an alt.
