blog — molly yeh

gluten free

pilpelchuma potato salad

in

i feel like a really big asshole about the fact that until about a month ago, the only thing i knew about libya i learned from back to the future. ummmmmmm. which is to say that i knew nothing. 

but then when mum visited she brought me that new nifty exotic spice situation from trader joe's which has a spice blend in it called pilpelchuma, and it is libyan! so i did some research and learned from janna that it is typical in libyan jewish cuisine. and it was the first i had ever heard about libyan jews, so i did a little more research and it turns out they're in rome and israel now. (hi from tuscany, by the way! speaking of italy...)

pilpelchuma translates to "pepper garlic" and it usually consists of hot peppers, caraway, cumin, and garlic, making it pretty similar to harissa. except omg ottolenghi's pilpelchuma calls for 20 garlic cloves, compared with harissa's 3. dannnng. 

i began my pilpelchuma journey by sprinkling it onto scrambled eggs, ever so daintily for fear that it would be way too spicy, but the trader joe's one is really quite manageable for my wimpy tastebuds. so then i went straight to mixing it with mayo because all good things in life involve mayo.

pilpelchuma mayo is so good: it brings me back to being severely drunk at lucky burger on the lower east side, eating all of the french fries and chipotle mayo that my college self desired. dammit, why do i keep this stuff on my blog. is it gonna get me in trouble one day? 

so drawing on my chipotle mayo/french fry memory, i roasted some of the potatoes from our garden (we grew potatoes this year! so dirty but so fun!) and made a potato salad so that i could strengthen my identity as an upper midwesterner. and of course when you call it a "salad" you have every right to eat it for dinner even if it is just cut up oven fries covered in mayo. i topped mine with micro greens too because i've been growing micro greens* and i suddenly feel less terrible about killing all of my basil. 

pilpelchuma roasted potato salad with radish micro greens

makes 4 servings

ingredients

lots of kosher salt

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

2 tb unsalted butter, melted

black pepper

1/2 c mayo

2 tb white vinegar

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp pilpelchuma spice blend (this will make it  kind of spicy. add 1 or 1 1/2 tsp if you want it on the milder side)

1 large shallot, finely chopped

a handful of micro greens

 

clues

preheat the oven to 450ºf. line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside.

bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil (i use about 3 tablespoons of salt), add the potatoes, and cook for 6 minutes. strain them and place them in an ice bath for 5 minutes. strain them, pat them dry, and then toss them with the melted butter. season them with salt and pepper, scatter them about your baking sheet and roast them for 45 minutes, tossing halfway through.

in a large bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, and pilpelchuma. (i use the same bowl for the ice bath, tossing the potatoes in butter, mixing the mayo, and for serving, and sometimes for eating, cause i'm lazy/resourceful/crunchy like that.) when the potatoes are done roasting, toss them in the mayo with the shallot. taste and adjust seasonings as desired. top with micro greens. enjoy!

-yeh!

*i'm growing these micro greens c/o the coolest company ever, green towers, which just started a  grow-your-own micro greens subscription service. every month they send you planter trays and all you need to do is water them and within days you'll have micro greens!!! and your gardening self-esteem will have tripled. use the code "mynameisyeh" for 20% off your order!

cauliflower, two ways: cauliflower swiss soup + cold curried cauliflower

in

we are in the midst of sugar beet pre-haul right now!

eggboy and his crew are working on opening up the sugar beet fields and doing little harvest test runs to make sure that all of the equipment is running smoothly before sugar beet harvest officially starts on october first. this is a super important step because sugar beet harvest is the mother of all harvests: it's so intense, it goes for 24 hours a day, and it can be really unpredictable. last year's harvest was a dream because the weather was perfect, but who knows what this harvest is going to bring. luckily, i've still got a month to prepare myself mentally for the long eggboy-less hours. (and you've still got a month to plan your trip to visit me and keep me company!)

of course, even during pre-haul, eggboy needs a lunch! this week, cauliflower is on the menu. sometimes i question cauliflower and need to google it to make sure that it's actually healthy because aren't healthy foods supposed to be really colorful?? whatever, the internet says it's healthy so i'm gonna go with it. i am slowly but surely expanding my arsenal of cauliflower recipes, which until recently has just included dan barber's cauliflower steak and smitten kitchen's cauliflower fritters, but this summer i got some inspiration in california via an alarmingly good curried cauliflower salad at lemonade. so this cold curried cauliflower recipe is totally based on that. it's sweet and nutty and curry-y and great. and then this soup represents my excitement about soup season being around the corner. it's pretty simple to make and packs creaminess and flavor thanks to the addition of swiss cheese and paprika. so go get thee some heads of cauliflower! 

cauliflower swiss soup

makes 4-6 servings

ingredients

2 tb unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

kosher salt and black pepper

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tb sweet paprika

5 cups chicken broth

1 head cauliflower, chopped

1 c shredded swiss cheese

Hot sauce, to taste

clues

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, a good pinch of salt, and a few turns of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and paprika and cook, stirring, for 1-2 more minutes. Add the broth and cauliflower and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Add the swiss and then use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve with additional swiss and a few shakes of hot sauce.

enjoy!

cold curried cauliflower

makes 4-6 servings

ingredients

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

2 tb olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

 curry vinaigrette (ingredients below)

1/2 c golden raisins

1/2 c toasted almonds, roughly chopped

 

curry vinaigrette:

1/2 c canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tb curry powder

1 tb dijon

1 tb honey

1 tb apple cider vinegar

1 tb lemon juice

kosher salt and black pepper

clues

Preheat oven to 400. Toss the cauliflower in the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Spread out on a sheet pan and roast for 20-30 minutes, until brown and tender.

to make the vinaigrette, first make a curry oil: coat the bottom of a pan with about a tablespoon of the canola oil and then cook the onion over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for 1-2 more minutes. Pour in the remaining oil and let it sizzle over medium heat for 1 minute. remove it from heat, let it cool, strain out the onion and allow the curry to sink to the bottom.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the dijon, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and then pour in the oil (carefully as to not disturb the curry at the bottom). Whisk together the vinaigrette. add the roasted cauliflower, raisins, and almonds, and toss to coat. Chill until serving.

enjoy!

-yeh!

i'll be packing up eggboy's cauliflower lunch in genuine thermos brand®'s new dual compartment food jar, which has two separate compartments, one for your soup and one for your curried cauliflower. it is super sturdy, holds enough for a filling meal, and is perfect for the tractor. for more info on this great new thing, check out genuine thermos brand®'s site.

thanks so much for providing compensation and products for this post, genuine thermos brand®!

 

 

corn, two ways: maple bacon polenta + mexican corn salad

in

greetings from my last day in israel! i am about to begin my zillion hour, three-flight journey home, and if my calculations are correct, i will return right in the thick of wheat harvest. 

i love wheat harvest. the golden wheat fields and the green grassy yards and the bright blue skies make the most rockin color blocking vibe, and the whole place smells like pizza. it's like a pizza-scented rothko. a scratch n sniff rothko.

it's great.

and of course another great thing about harvest is the farm lunches!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

most of the days this summer, eggboy has been able to come in for lunch, but during harvest, if there is good weather, work doesn't stop for lunch. which is laaaaame because that means i gotta put on pants and go outside when i wanna see him during daylight hours (#hermit), but awesome because i was made to pack cute lunches. and while i shouldn't take credit for all of the farm lunches, as eggmama is by far the main farm lunch maker, occasionally the inspiration strikes and i go on a lunch-making binge, complete with fresh scones and love notes.

before i left, inspiration hit in the form of corn. and bacon. and eggboy's love of mexican food. and the cutest little fold-up spork i ever did see*. this maple bacon polenta is exactly what it sounds like: creamy, buttery cornmeal polenta with a swirl of sweet maple syrup, topped with a handful of crispy bacon. it's super quick and easy to make and the combination of corn, maple, and bacon is delicious. and the other dish here, the mexican corn salad, is a sporkable version of elotes, mexican street corn on the cob that's been covered in cream, cotija cheese, cilantro, and lime. this version is a little extra spicy and a fresh contrast to the polenta.

maple bacon polenta

makes 4 servings

ingredients

4 slices bacon

2 c water

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 c corn meal

1/4 c whole milk

3 tb unsalted butter

1/4 tsp paprika

Black pepper, to taste

3 tb maple syrup
 

clues

crisp up the bacon in a skillet. while it's cooking, make the polenta.

Place the water and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, whisk in the corn meal very gradually, and continue to whisk until the mixture has thickened. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the milk, butter, paprika, black pepper, and maple syrup. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

When the bacon is done cooking, pat off excess fat and give it a rough chop. Sprinkle the bacon over the polenta and serve.

enjoy!

 

mexican corn salad

makes 8 servings

ingredients

2 tb flavorless oil, like canola

8 ears of corn

kosher salt and black pepper

1/4 c mayo

1/4 c sour cream, crema, or plain greek yogurt

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp lime juice

8 oz feta or cotija

2 tb chopped cilantro

 

clues

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Chop the corn kernels off of the cobs and add the corn to the skillet with a good pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until browned. 

In a large bowl, mix together the mayo, sour cream, paprika, cayenne, and lime juice. Add the corn and stir to coat. Stir in the feta and cilantro. Serve immediately or chill and serve it cold.

enjoy!

-yeh!

*the cutest little foldable spork i ever did see has come c/o the newest member of our sturdy farm lunch container family, genuine thermos brand®'s new dual compartment food jar. it has a section that'll keep your polenta hot for five hours and a separate section for your mexican corn. it's sturdy enough to get the eggboy seal of approval (i.e. it can get tossed around a tractor on a regular basis), and yes, that spork, i squealed when i saw it.

thank you so much to genuine thermos brand® for providing compensation and product for this post! all opinions are mine.

nutella egg cream

in

hey, my husband's name is eggboy and i just made an egg cream. hold your tongue on the jokes, i already made them all, they are already so last week. (actually if you have a good one, i wouldn't be opposed to you saying it.)

but ok, egg creams! a classic new york drink that has nary an egg, just whole milk, seltzer, and chocolate syrup. my percussion teacher in college, gordon, informed me during one of our timbale lessons that it has to be fox's u-bet syrup. absolutely has to be. (it's not an egg cream without fox's, molly, now please show me how much cascara you practiced this week...something like that.)

past the basic ingredients, everybody has a different way of making it and everybody's way is the best. some add the syrup at the beginning, some add it after the milk and seltzer, some have strong opinions about the type of glass used... and i am just a shy middle-of-nowhere dweller, very far away from the closest fox's and there is a nutella stain on my pants. do you get where i'm going?

here's a photo of rob and me on the night i had my first egg cream, at sammy's roumanian. r.i.p. my bangs. i didn't hate my first egg cream, i didn't love it, but over the years the sensation of drinking a fizzy chocolate milk has grown on me so much, especially because it makes me all nostalgic for sammy's and rob and brian and my earlier years in new york. it's a fun drink, a festive chocolatey one, and something that everybody should try twice.

nutella egg cream

makes 2

ingredients

1/2 c nutella

3/4 c whole milk, very cold

1 c seltzer, very cold

clues

in a bowl of measuring cup, whisk together the nutella and 1/4 cup of milk to make a syrup.

divide the remaining milk between two glasses and then top with the seltzer. mix in the nutella syrup, dividing it evenly between the glasses. enjoy!

this post is part of sherrie + renee's #drinkthesummer party!!!! i wish it was an i.r.l. party bc holy crap is it hot in israel. i need a cold drink. but it's on the internet, the second best party place in town! go to their blogs to check out all of the other amazing drinks that are part of this party!

-yeh!