Born in Chicago, food blogger and author Molly Yeh was attending the prestigious Juilliard School in New York when her life took an unexpected turn: she fell in love with a fifth-generation farmer and fellow student, and ended up moving to his family’s North Dakota farm.
It was there that she started blogging about food and made a splash when she won Food Blog of the Year honors from Saveur Magazine. She went on to write an acclaimed cookbook, “Molly on the Range” and a week from Sunday her new show, “Girl Meets Farm” premieres on the Food Network.
Here are some of Yeh’s signature recipes:
Green beans with magic sesame sauce
Ingredients
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch green beans
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, smashed*
a pinch of crushed red pepper
Directions
1. Saute green beans in a medium pan with about ½ tablespoon olive oil.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the sesame oil, honey, tahini, soy sauce, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Shakshuka with feta
Ingredients
4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
Kosher salt
4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon harissa, or more to taste (different brands vary in spiciness)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cans or carton (28 ounces) chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
8 large eggs
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
A handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, harissa, smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt, a few turns of black pepper and a pinch of red chili flakes and cook until it’s all dreamy smelly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the chopped tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste the sauce and add what you believe is right.
3. Make 8 little wells and crack in your eggs. Either baste the eggs by spooning the hot tomato sauce over them, or just let them be in a sunny-side-up situation. When the whites are cooked but the yolks are still runny, remove from the heat. Sprinkle the eggs with a little salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, top the whole pan with feta and parsley and serve.
Garlicky lemon kale
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup almonds, slivered
1 lemon, cut in half
1/4 cup pecorino Romano cheese, thinly ribboned
Directions
1. To a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add garlic and stir constantly, cooking until translucent and soft. Then, add kale and cook until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring to make sure all pieces are coated in the garlic and oil and get cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, heat a grill pan to medium high. Place lemon halves cut side down and allow to char, not moving until grill marks are visible. About 2 minutes.
3. In a second small pan over medium high heat, add almonds. Continue to move the pan and toast almonds for about 3 minutes until slightly golden brown and fragrant.
4. To serve: Transfer kale to a bowl. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon on top. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and pecorino shavings. Serve with additional lemon half on the side. Enjoy!
Olive oil blondies with chocolate frosting
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup california olive ranch olive oil
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
a pinch of kosher salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºf. Grease and line an 8″ square pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and pour the mixture into the pan, spreading it out evenly. Bake until The center is set, begin checking for doneness at 35 minutes.
3. Remove to the rack and cool completely.
4. To make the frosting, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, salt, heavy cream, and vanilla. Spread it on the blondies, top with sprinkles (if desired), and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Mini quiches with zucchini, peas and bacon
Ingredients
1 large or 2 small zucchinis, seeds removed, small diced
6 slices of bacon
5 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 cup frozen peas
3 ounces shredded gruyere cheese
Pie dough
Directions
1. To a medium skillet, add bacon. Turn heat to medium high and cook on each side until brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon from pan to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
To pan with bacon drippings, add zucchini. Saute until zucchini is tender and starts to brown. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, dice cooked bacon.
2. To a medium bowl, eggs, heavy cream, teaspoon sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper to taste, salt to taste, Dijon mustard and whisk to combine. Then, add bacon, zucchini, frozen peas, gruyere cheese and fold to combine. Set aside.
3. Remove pie dough from fridge. Divide the dough into 7 equal parts and roll each into a ball. Roll each ball out into TK inch rounds. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray. Press each of the dough rounds into the muffin tins, crimping the edges.
4. Divide the egg mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Place in 375 F oven and bake until just set. About 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve. Taste!
