Award-winning chef and cookbook author Marcus Samuelsson stopped by Good Morning America on Tuesday to share four flavorful recipes from his new cookbook, “Back to Green,” featuring dishes like chicken mole with mushrooms and green beans, grilled eggplant with scallion oil, Brazilian steak with cassava fries, and a green grain bowl.
Essential Kitchen Takeaways From Samuelsson’s GMA Feature
- Samuelsson shared four distinct recipes on Tuesday, including chicken mole, grilled eggplant, Brazilian steak, and a green grain bowl.
- The dishes utilize fresh, vibrant ingredients such as poblano chiles, cassava root, fonio, and charred tomatoes.
- Recipes are featured in Samuelsson’s new cookbook, “Back to Green,” which focuses on healthy eating and bold flavors.
Samuelsson Prepares Chicken Mole with Grilled Eggplant
Samuelsson’s chicken mole pairs bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts with white mushrooms and green beans. The mole base requires broiling unpeeled white onions, tomatoes, poblano chiles, garlic cloves, and serrano chiles until charred. Dried guajillo chiles are soaked in boiling water, then blended with the charred vegetables, fresh mint, cilantro, and salt. The chicken is seared in a Dutch oven with vegetable oil, cumin, and coriander before being nested into the simmering mushroom and mole sauce to finish cooking.
For a lighter vegetable-forward option, Samuelsson demonstrated a grilled eggplant dish accompanied by scallion oil and a spicy lime dressing. The dressing combines fish sauce, fresh lime juice, sugar, minced garlic, and a minced bird’s-eye chile. Once cooked, the eggplant is drizzled with the spicy lime dressing and the sizzling scallion oil, then finished with chopped roasted peanuts and sesame seeds.
Brazilian Steak Pairs with Cassava Fries and Salsa
Protein enthusiasts received a fresh option with the Brazilian steak and homemade cassava fries. The cassava root is soaked in cold water to remove starch, boiled until tender, and chilled in the freezer before being fried in avocado oil at 360°F until golden and crispy. The accompanying green salsa blends tomatillos, avocado, shallot, cilantro, spinach, jalapeño, lime juice, and salt. Beef tenderloin steaks are pounded to a quarter-inch thickness, brushed with olive oil, and seasoned with a coarse mix of crushed coriander seeds, black peppercorns, and kosher salt before grilling.
Rounding out the quartet of recipes is a nutrient-dense green grain bowl. The base relies on a roasted carrot puree made by roasting carrots and garlic, then steeping them in coconut milk infused with ginger and red onion before blending. A sour lime vinaigrette combines lime juice, agave, garlic, olive oil, cilantro, parsley, mint, and chives. The grain salad incorporates barley, cracked wheat, and fonio, tossed with the vinaigrette and served over the carrot puree alongside charred beefsteak tomatoes, diced avocado, toasted pumpkin seeds, and lime wedges.
| Recipe | Key Ingredients | Prep Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Mole | Tomatoes, poblanos, guajillo chiles, mushrooms, green beans | Charred vegetables in broiler; braised in a Dutch oven |
| Grilled Eggplant | Chinese eggplant, scallions, bird’s-eye chile, peanuts | Sizzling scallion oil; spicy lime dressing |
| Brazilian Steak | Cassava root, tomatillos, avocado, beef tenderloin | Double-cooked cassava fries; whole-spice rub for steak |
| Green Grain Bowl | Carrots, coconut milk, barley, cracked wheat, fonio | Steeped carrot puree; vibrant herb vinaigrette |
All four recipes are available for home cooks looking to replicate the dishes from “Back to Green,” offering a glimpse into Samuelsson’s latest collection of plant-forward and protein-balanced meals.
