Marcus Samuelsson is an award-winning cookbook author, food activist and chef/owner of the acclaimed New York City restaurant Red Rooster Harlem.
“In Sweden, where I grew up, the holiday season has its own smell — of gingersnaps, fish being pickled and, of course, mulled wine, or glogg, which every family always keeps simmering on the stove. Those smells still really transport me — and I make a point to always have glogg on the menu of my restaurants in November and December. You don’t need to buy fancy wine — in fact, since you’re going to add sugar and spices to it, it’s a great way to use up any half bottles you have hanging around as leftovers. I also still make a lot of salmon during the holidays. Growing up, curing and roasting salmon was something we always did as a family. Little did I know that would someday be considered fine dining — in Sweden it was a necessity!”
Serve it with: Roasted garlic mashed potatoes, roasted fennel, collard greens or Brussels sprouts with pecans, bacon and dried cherries are all great accompaniments to serve with salmon. The root vegetables, the red cabbage — I think we should celebrate them.
Pro tip: From both on an economic level and in terms of convenience, it pays to be smart about using leftovers. Planning a second-day meal is a good habit to get into considering we throw out 33 percent of our food — and the holidays are an especially great time to be mindful of not letting resources go to waste.
RECIPES:
Gloegg
Tea-Glazed Grilled Salmon
