Turn over Marie Simmons’ business card and you’ll see a rundown of the cookbooks she’s written. There’s The Good Egg, a James Beard Award winner, the hugely popular 365 Ways to Cook Pasta, and the award-winning Lighter Quicker Better. Simmons is prolific. She’s published more than 20 cookbooks, plus countless articles on cooking and food.
She’s also a cooking instructor – and now a blogger serving up fresh and fast vegetarian dishes.
We met her recently over lunch, during a Culinary Institute of America conference in California’s Napa Valley.
We’d read Simmons’ articles over the years and were familiar with her reputation as a food expert. So we wondered how she ventured into the world of food.
She says she wasn’t born knowing how to write a cookbook but was groomed for the task by being born into a family of avid cooks.
“My fondest childhood memories are not of dolls and games, but of Saturdays spent in my grandmother’s – affectionately known as Nana – kitchen rolling out cookie dough, shaping fresh pasta, or peeling apples for pie.”
Simmons shared with us a recipe showcasing fennel, now very much in season.
This raw fennel salad is easy, featuring a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice. It’s gracefully topped with a generous helping of “curls” shaved from a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano. You can use a cheese plane to make the decorative curls.
Simmons also advises using a mandoline or other type of vegetable slicer to cut the fennel into paper-thin slices.
“Once you make this salad you don’t need to look at the recipe again,” says Simmons. “It’s that simple.”
She said she was inspired to create the dish by fennel salads she’s eaten at Italian trattoria in this country and in in Italy.
Fennel is highly aromatic and flavorful. It’s a member of the parsley family. Fennel has been used in Europe for centuries as a source of seeds for flavoring and as a vegetable. The stalk is the part you eat. In addition to serving it raw in salads, you can also serve it braised and grilled.
“I love this vegetable for its crisp texture and subtle licorice taste when it’s raw and for it’s silken softness and sweet flavor when cooked,” says Simmons. “Either way it’s one of my favorite winter vegetables.”
Bon appétit,
Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch
