Eric Ripert became the executive chef at New York's quintessential French seafood restaurant Le Bernardin in 1994; his work has garnered consistent accolades and adoration ever since. In 1995, at just 29 years old, Ripert earned his first four-star review from The New York Times, an honor the restaurant was first awarded in its nascency in 1986 and continues to hold today.
Ripert was named Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2003 and a Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America in 2004. Le Bernardin has maintained its three Michelin stars since the Guide's New York launch in 2005 and is a fixture on the list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants. Whether you're looking to re-create the magic of a Le Bernardin meal at home or perhaps get a first taste of Ripert's offerings, here are 30 magnificent recipes from the celebrated chef to get you started.
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Roast Monkfish in Sake Broth
A dish like this, combining deeply flavored ingredients (turnip, miso) with delicate ones (monkfish), calls for a wine that's neither too subtle nor too bold.
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Octopus with Black Bean-Pear Sauce
Eric Ripert is a master at weaving together unexpected ingredients, like this tender charred octopus with a sauce of salty fermented black beans and sweet pear. Finding a wine pairing for such a complex dish, however, is a challenge. "It needs a very aromatic wine, just to stand up to all the flavors," says wine director Aldo Sohm.
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Seared Tuna with Chimichurri Sauce and Greens
Eric Ripert serves this thinly sliced tuna alongside mounds of mesclun, both dressed with chimichurri sauce.
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Lemon Confit
"I add lemon confit to so many dishes — from broiled fish to pork and beans," says Eric Ripert of New York City's Le Bernardin. He blends his lemon confit with butter to add a pleasantly pungent flavor to broiled snapper. Before broiling, he dots some of the lemon butter on the fish, then serves more lemon butter on the side. Lemon confit can be refrigerated for several months.
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Scallops with Orzo, Tomatoes, and Ginger
This seafood recipe is bursting with flavor. Ginger and lemongrass combine with tomatoes, lemon juice, and basil and accompany seared scallops on top of chewy orzo.
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Banana Soufflés
These simple, airy soufflés are the perfect marriage of Puerto Rican ingredients and French technique. In Puerto Rico, Ripert pulled a couple of bananas off a tree to make this dessert.
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Tuna Tartare with Ginger Oil, Wasabe, and Sesame Seeds
For his elegant, ultraflavorful tuna tartare, Ripert infuses oil with ginger, then combines it with diced sushi-grade tuna, cilantro, jalapeño, wasabi, sesame seeds, scallion, and lemon juice. It's topped with tomato, more lemon juice and cilantro, and an extra drizzle of ginger oil, then served with potato chips.
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Feijoada
Feijoada, Brazil's national dish, is a stew loaded with black beans and meats of every description: smoked pork loin, bacon, and sausage such as chorizo. Eric Ripert learned to make this recipe from Maria Auxiliadora Etheve, owner of the restaurant Cacau in the Brazilian beach town of Trancoso.
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Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Garlic-Herb Butter
The best way to eat these shrimp in the shell is to peel them at the table and lick the garlicky butter off your fingers. Make the herbed butter the night before so it's ready to go when you need it.
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Seared Cod with Spicy Mussel Aïoli
This simple, sophisticated dish relies on store-bought mayonnaise to enrich the sublime garlicky mussel sauce.
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Salmon with Pea-Wasabi Puree and Yuzu
Eric Ripert presents salmon three ways here: poached, smoked, and in the form of roe.
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Toasted Bread with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Herbs
Bread that's grilled over an outdoor fire has a delicious, woodsy flavor and needs only the simplest of toppings.
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Chicken Legs Coq au Vin
Coq au vin is typically made with a cut-up chicken; this version uses only drumsticks, so the meat cooks uniformly in the rich red wine sauce.
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Seared Tuna with Sauce Vierge
This light, easy tuna recipe evokes the flavors of southern France. The fish is crusted with herbes de Provence, then drizzled with Ripert’s take on sauce vierge, an oil that he flavors with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and capers.
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Halibut with Orange-Miso Sauce and Fennel Salad
Eric Ripert cleverly uses miso to deepen the flavor of the warm citrus-and-ginger vinaigrette that he drizzles over halibut.
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Rio-Style Ginger Beer Floats
Eric Ripert's sweet, fizzy drink — made with orange juice, passion fruit, and mango sorbet — is his Brazilian take on a typical American root beer float.
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Monkfish and Chorizo Kebabs
For these kebabs, Ripert threads spicy chorizo, cherry tomatoes, monkfish, and red onion onto metal skewers, brushes them with olive oil, and grills them until lightly charred. To finish, they're drizzled with a cilantro dressing and served with garlicky grilled baguette pieces.
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Scallop Crudo with Wasabi-Ginger Sauce
This amazingly simple recipe features thin slices of raw sea scallops topped with a sauce made from lime juice, wasabi, and fresh ginger. Buy the freshest, highest-quality scallops you can find: The success of the recipe depends on it.
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Scallop Crudo with Pecans and Ponzu Sauce
Here, thin slices of raw sea scallops are topped with the delicious combination of chopped toasted pecans, Japanese ponzu sauce, and aged balsamic vinegar.
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Bahian Seafood Stew with Coconut and Tomato
In Bahia, cooks prepare endless variations of this traditional stew: with shrimp, with fish and shrimp, with lobster. What's constant is the coconut milk and the dish's freshness and robust simplicity. All you do is sauté aromatic vegetables, then add seafood and coconut milk and simmer briefly until cooked through.
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Caribbean Mango and Steamed Shrimp Salad
Steamed shrimp and ripe, juicy mangoes are served with a fragrant dressing made from lime juice, freshly chopped tarragon, and reduced shrimp stock.
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Poached Red Snapper with Papaya and Mango Sauce Vierge
"Brazilians eat rich and heavy," Eric Ripert says. "I wanted something light and healthy." His idea was to poach a local fish and top it with a tropical version of what he callssauce vierge, replacing the pickles, capers, and tomatoes he'd typically use with papaya, mango, and ginger.
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Striped Bass with Mango & Pickled Ginger Salad
Ripert is an expert at combining French technique with Asian ingredients. Here, he creates a rich, red wine–ginger sauce and tangy, Thai-inspired mango salad to go with mild baked striped bass.
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Sereno co*cktails
Eric Ripert invented this delicious chile-tinged rum and orange juice drink on the spot in Puerto Rico.
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Grilled Zucchini Kebabs with Zucchini Dip
Garlic-marinated zucchini slices are charred on the grill and served with a sauce made from sautéed zucchini, onion, and garlic that's pureed with basil and finished with lemon juice.
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Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Garlic
Eric Ripert cooks lamb chops on a large thin piece of slate, which he preheats over an open wood fire for an hour.
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Camembert Baked in the Box
This tender, melty cheese bakes in its box to keep it from collapsing. Be sure to buy Camembert in a box that’s stapled, not glued.
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Herb-Stuffed Zucchini
Here, round zucchinis are hallowed out and stuffed with a mix of sautéed veggies, diced ham, basmati rice, and herbs; then they're topped with breadcrumbs and baked until tender.
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Provençal Vegetable Soup
This vegetable-packed soup gets exceptional flavor from pistou, the pesto-style basil puree that’s served with it. To make a vegetarian version, omit the ham and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
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Watercress Salad with Salmon
Watercress and mung bean sprouts are tossed with chopped fresh cilantro, mint, and peanuts in a red curry-tinged dressing, then get topped with succulent pieces of salmon fillet.
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