Marcus Samuelsson's Favorite Comfort Food Is A Hearty Classic

Due to his culinary prowess and unique cultural background, celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson has earned a reputation for his elevated takes on comfort food classics. Samuelsson is the chef-owner behind numerous restaurants worldwide, including Harlem's Red Rooster, which serves stylish soul food, and fried chicken chain Streetbird, among many others. Though Samuelsson's roots in Ethiopia and Sweden greatly inform his taste and methods, he is known for his embrace of American culinary traditions, with a particular focus on Black communities as well as the infusion of immigrant influences on American cuisine.

Still, despite Samuelsson's love of American classics like fried chicken and corn on the cob, his favorite comfort food to cook at home is a hearty staple dish that transcends cultural bounds: stew. Samuelsson told Buzzfeed in 2019, "My wife will go and get lamb or goat from a farm and then we'll take a Sunday to make a big stew with cabbage. We'll have that for the week and usually will eat it with rice or couscous." Sounds like Samuelsson and his family are bringing the principles of farm-to-table dining into their home kitchen.

As the weather gets colder and days get dark earlier, it can be easy to fall into a slump, which often extends into the kitchen. With less time in your day to shop and less energy to cook, it's tempting to give up on meal prep goals altogether and resort to quick fixes like fast food and takeout. A great way to overcome these obstacles, however, is to follow Marcus Samuelsson's lead and focus on preparing easy, filling, home-cooked meals that can be eaten throughout the week or frozen for an extended shelf life.

Stew is the ideal meal for such occasions. It's simple, customizable, nutritious, and straightforward to prepare, whether you use a crockpot or simmer on the stove. Stew is one of the oldest dishes known to man and appears in virtually every region's cuisine in some form or another, from Russian beef stroganoff to Mexican pozole. In the U.S., beef stew is quite common, likely due to French and British influence. Even if you don't have the means to get your meat directly from a farm like Samuelsson and his family, you can set aside a Sunday for slow cooking. As long as you avoid a few common mistakes, you'll be enjoying the results for days or weeks to come, which especially comes in handy on those weeknights when motivation is at an all-time low.