15 of Our Favorite Recipes From Gail Simmons
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Whether you watch her on Top Chef or have followed her career at Food & Wine, you know that Gail Simmons has excellent taste. Simmons, a former cook, also has solid cooking chops, along with a knack for turning her favorite dishes from vacations and other travels into recipes that work in a home kitchen. Here are a few of our favorite recipes, from grain bowls to Canadian desserts like Nanaimo Bars, that she's contributed to Food & Wine over the years.
Za'atar Baked Eggs
Simmons' mother was a cooking and food writer whose lessons at home prepared Simmons for the summer she spent on a kibbutz in Israel as a teenager working in her first professional kitchen. There, Simmons fell in love with egg cookery. These Za'atar Baked Eggs are one of her brunch go-to dishes, with eggs baked in a savory mix of tomatoes and peppers. "It never fails to conjure happy memories of that magical time," she recalls.
Grilled Scallops with Miso-Corn Salad
In summer, Simmons cooks scallops on the grill until they are just kissed by the flames. She piles them on top of warmed veggies with a bright dressing. This version, a favorite for quick and easy backyard dinners, incorporates miso, ginger, and toasted sesame, adding a savory dimension to the salad and a rich contrast to the corn and scallops’ inherent sweetness. To achieve the best sear on your scallops, set them uncovered on a paper towel in the refrigerator for a few hours before grilling.
Chocolate and Hazelnut Nanaimo Bars
Simmons is an unabashed fan of Nanaimo bars, a treat that is beloved in her native Canada. "For whatever reason, the bars never gained a following south of the border, and I have yet to come across anything like them here," she says. "I have always found this to be not just an unfortunate oversight, but a distinct and glaring hole in the American dessert lexicon—one I’m filling here with one of my own design, that layers a chocolate and coconut crust with buttercream frosting, hazelnuts, and chocolate ganache with swirls of tahini.You can thank me later."
Quinoa and Brown Rice Bowl with Vegetables and Tahini
“While in Los Angeles filming the second season of Top Chef Just Desserts last year, I discovered Café Gratitude, a vegan café with a cult following,” Simmons says. “For me, its fresh, simple food was the perfect antidote to all that sugar. I loved aptly named dishes like I Am Fortified — a bowl of whole grains with lots of cooked vegetables. When I got back to New York, I developed my own version.”
Potato Rösti with Pastrami
Simmons recreated a dish from famed chef Daniel Humm in this recipe, using a spiralizer to cut russet potatoes into long shoestrings, then frying them into a potato cake. She tops it with pastrami and whole grain mustard, but also suggests smoked salmon and crème fraiche, or a gently fried egg for a luxurious breakfast or brunch.
Butterscotch Pudding Pie
Butterscotch pudding was Gail Simmons’s number one dessert choice when she was a kid. It’s recently made a comeback, and the Top Chef judge has seen it embellished with creative and sophisticated flourishes, but she still likes to keep it homey, focusing on the buttery flavor and lingering finish of real Scotch. Once in a while, if she wants to impress, she thickens the pudding more than usual and pours it into a fully cooled piecrust flecked with golden pecans. The contrasting textures of rich pudding and nutty, flaky dough make this a grown-up ode to the comforting childhood classic.
Jerk-Grilled Lobster
A trip to Jamaica prompted Simmons to make this jerk lobster. "After trying every item that can be basted or drizzled in the flavors of jerk, from shrimp to chicken to whole fish and even cocktails, hands down my favorite incarnation is lobster, where the jerk paste is stirred into butter and used to baste the crustacean while it cooks over the flames," she says. "My streamlined version is one that you can make all year round, but grilling the lobsters outside, beer in hand, is always encouraged."
Chicken and Barley Stew with Dill and Lemon
This one-pot dinner from Gail Simmons is an enriched take on classic chicken soup with rice; at once flavorful, hearty and comforting with brightness from the dill and lemon.
:Chicken and Barley Stew with Dill and Lemon
Blackberry and Mascarpone Crêpe Cake
This cake harkens back to Simmons' days working as an apprentice in the kitchen at Le Cirque 2000. She started her days making 50 French crepes for the restaurant's appetizer station. Here, she layers crepes with plain and blackberry mascarpone whipped cream for a memorable cake.
Black-Eyed Pea Stew with Sausage
This recipe was inspired by Top Chef Season 4's finale in Puerto Rico, when Antonia Lofaso was eliminated after serving a stew with undercooked pigeon peas. To simplify the process and save time, Simmons skips the pigeon peas and uses black-eyed peas instead, which do not require overnight soaking and cook right in the pot in about an hour. The result is a thick, luscious stew loaded with tender peas and spicy Italian sausage.
Chewy Black Licorice Chocolate Brownies
Simmons grew up in Canada, but her father, Ivor, comes from a small town in South Africa. Although his background is English and Eastern European, he was raised in a region with strong Dutch influences. One Dutch passion he passed down to his daughter is a love of black licorice, specifically a salty, chewy variety. Whenever their family visited his homeland, Ivor stocked up on dubbel zout (double salt)—coins of salted black licorice about the size of a quarter. Simmons devoured them, relishing the savory, saline exterior that gave way to the barely sweet, chewy center. Her father’s other sweet vice, which she also inherited, is chocolate. Not white, not milk, but the pure bittersweet kind. This deeply dark-chocolaty brownie is her homage to him. It has a sophisticated touch of salt, plus notes of molasses and anise from black licorice, and the combo makes a brilliant treat that is irresistibly chewy and not too sweet.
Gail's Anchoïade
Simmons discovered anchoïade, a rustic Provençal spread made with tinned anchovies, vinegar or lemon, and garlic, while on vacation with her husband in the town of Arcachon in southwestern France. She created her own version, with chile flakes and a big pinch of lemon zest. "Making and using it — on seafood, on buttered bread, even as a condiment for steak — scratches that daydreamy itch for the flavors of the French seaside," she says.
Basque Grilled Fish
This recipe was inspired by a meal Simmons ate on the Bay of Biscay in Spain. this version. The simple preparation lets the flavor of fish shine — if it’s really fresh, it won’t need so much as a slice of lemon to enhance it. Use a grilling basket to prevent flaky fish from falling apart during cooking. Serve it with Txakoli, a lightly effervescent wine with bright minerality.
Bumbleberry Buttermilk Upside-Down Cake
In Canada, where Simmons grew up, “bumbleberry” refers to a mix of berries — usually blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Here, she layers the fruit in a wide skillet over a thin layer of sugar that caramelizes while the cake bakes. The tender, lemony buttermilk cake is the perfect canvas for the berries.
Horseradish Brisket
Rubbing prepared horseradish on the brisket and whisking it into the meaty sauce punches up the rich flavors here. Like most braised dishes, this brisket tastes better on the second or even third day.
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