No one is a stranger for long at Bernie’s, the café, restaurant and marketplace that Molly Yeh just opened in East Grand Forks, MN. The Girl Meets Farm host named the spot after her first daughter, and she put her whole heart into every detail. “My dream was to celebrate the food of the Midwest, which I love so much, and create a place where everyone — farmers, construction workers, families, friends — would feel comfortable,” she says. On the menu: regional specialties like hotdish and cheese curds; foods that reflect the local German and Scandinavian heritage, such as knoephla soup (dumpling and potato soup) and a lefse dog; and baloney and cheese from local purveyors. “The last great bread bakery in town closed years ago,” says Molly, so she put 10-plus types of bread on the café menu. She also worked hard to preserve the details of the historic building, including the distinctive horseshoe bar — the first of its kind in America. “Opening a restaurant is a big deal. It took a village to get this up and running.” If all goes well, she jokes, next up will be Ira’s Bagels, named after Bernie’s baby sister. Try a recipe from the menu!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 15 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 2 to 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 large cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 15-ounce can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for topping
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Baby greens, giardiniera, olives, crumbled feta cheese and flaky salt, for topping
- Sourdough bread, for serving
Instructions
- Put the garlic in a small bowl and cover with the lemon juice. Let sit 5 minutes to mellow out the raw garlic flavor.
- In a food processor, combine the navy beans, olive oil, smoked paprika, a big pinch of salt, a few grindings of pepper and the garlic and lemon juice. Blend until very smooth, a full 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.
- Spoon the dip into a bowl and add the desired toppings; drizzle with olive oil. Serve with sourdough bread.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 347 |
| Total Fat | 21 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 10 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 568 mg |
Reviews
Amazing! Absolutely loved this at her restaurant and made it when I got home. If I lived in town, I would go all the time but as it is, I am four hours away. But it’s worth the drive!
I didn’t use the giardiniera in mine, but it was fantastic, my husband said he could eat it every night! The dressing was delicious and would use on other salads as well.