Each month, your Neighboring Food Co-ops feature our region’s artisan cheesemakers by offering a specially selected cheese at great price. Look for the “Cave to Co-op” sign in the cheese section at your local food co-op. To find one near you, visit www.nfca.coop/members.
This month’s special cheese is Goat from Mt. Mansfield Creamery, Morrisville, VT
Stan Biasini and Debora Wickart are the cheesemakers and dairy farmers at Mt. Mansfield Creamery. With the creamery four miles from the farm, Stan transports their milk to the creamery on cheese making days. Debora milks the cows and ships to the St. Albans Cooperative. They make small batches of cheese only 8 to 12 times per month and increase production according to demand. They milk registered Holsteins and Brown Swiss cows that are on rotational grazing in the summer months and fed grain and hay during the winter.
Mt. Mansfield Creamery started in June of 2009 and they make cheese year around. Debora milks about 30 cows per day and receives awards for the quality of milk she produces. Stan, a graduate of Paul Smith’s College, has put his chef days behind him to concentrate on their recipes for cheese.
The cheese facility is in the heart of Morrisville, in the old United Farmers Creamery building. Not only did they renovate the building, but they also built their own cheese cave in the basement. They wash and brush the rinds to keep them thin to ensure that their products are one hundred percent edible.
While it is named Goat, it is really is only 17% goat milk from a neighboring farm. The Joneslan Farm, who supplies the goat milk, is in Hyde Park, VT and has an interesting farming story itself. Joneslan Farm is a 150 year old, multi-generational farm that converted from milking cows to goats. Read their story here.
“Goat” is a raw goat and cow milk Havarti style and is aged for three months in the caves. Once aged it features a full body flavor with buttery notes, balanced by only a faint goat tang, and is perfect for melted cheese on burgers and more. Try it alone or in these recipes.
Cheese Fritters with Goat and Scallions
serves 4
- 4 oz fresh breadcrumbs 4 oz grated Goat cheese 2 scallions, minced
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1⁄4 tsp dry mustard
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp each oil and butter for sautéing the fritters
Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, scallions, lemon zest, dry mustard and parsley with the yolks. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture is a little stiff add a bit of milk; it should be stiff but spoonable. Whisk the egg whites and fold them in.
Heat a little oil and butter in a large frying pan, add the mixture in spoonfuls (do this in batches if your pan is small). Fry until golden and then turn over to cook the other side. They need about 5-6 minutes in all to make sure the middles are cooked through. Drain on and serve with a spicy relish or salsa.
Potato Galette w/Goat and Rosemary
serves 6
- 1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, skin on, sliced 1⁄4 inch thick
2 tbsp olive oil - 1 Cup grated Goat cheese
- 1⁄2 medium onion, peeled, cut in half, then sliced thin
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced pinch of nutmeg
- salt and pepper
pre-heat oven to 400°F
In a medium bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil. Arrange half the potatoes in the bottom of a non-stick oven-proof skillet. Sprinkle with the cheese, onion, half the rosemary, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Layer the rest of the potatoes on top, overlapping the slices. Add more salt and pepper and the remaining rosemary.
Cover loosely with foil and using a heavy oven-proof plate, or another skillet, press down on the potatoes and place the skillet in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the skillet and flip the potatoes out onto a dish, then slide them brown side up back into the skillet.
Return to the oven and cook for another 20 minutes or so, until everything is brown and crispy and the potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven, slide the potatoes onto a plate and serve cut into wedges.
Cave to Co-op is a partnership between Provision International and the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA) to support local, artisanal cheese producers in our region and make their products more easily available to co-op shoppers. The NFCA is a network of more than 40 food co-ops in our region — including yours — that are working together to advance their vision of a thriving regional economy, rooted in a healthy, just and sustainable food system and a vibrant community of co-operative enterprise. For more information, please visit www.nfca.coop.