Happy Cows Make Creamy Pasta
Point Reyes Dairy + Creamy Peas and Prosciutto Pasta + a stunning Grenache
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A few years back, a funny thing happened on a hike through Point Reyes National Seashore. My husband and I were attempting to do the longest hike we had done with our baby strapped to my husband’s back, singing Wheels on the Bus and reciting lines from The Pout Pout Fish while we made our way up and down rolling hills, through towering pines and around oak trees strung with pale green moss like summer tinsel. Occasionally the trail was interrupted by gates that needed to be opened and closed to allow humans to pass, but not the animals being kept inside - not the typical experience of hiking in a national park. At last, the Pacific came into view. Along the wild and windswept beach, giant brown boulders sat sunning themselves in the sand. Except as we got closer, we could see (and smell), these were not rocks at all but cows.
Situated about 40 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County, Point Reyes has a history of farming cattle, for meat and especially dairy, that can be traced back to the 1850’s, when the whole region was enthralled with the Gold Rush. It was the original human inhabitants of the Point Reyes peninsula, the Coast Miwok, who used controlled burning, pruning, and weeding for millennia, creating the dreamy grasslands that enterprising settlers saw as ideal pasture for cows.
The fortunes of these early ranchers rose and fell, but the legacy of the cattle farming was enshrined through an unusual agreement between ranchers and the government, signed by President Kennedy in 1962. In addition to creating the Point Reyes National Seashore Park, the law designated “pastoral zones” for cattle grazing with renewable leases for the existing farmers pending review every 25 - 30 years. Today, five organic dairies operate within the park boundaries. Recently, a 2013 study by the Marin Carbon Project has shown that managed, rotational grazing of cattle, part of an agricultural movement called regenerative farming, can revitalize grasslands, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. It seems a rare instance of private industry, environmental groups and government working together to preserve culture and livelihoods while also protecting the land.
Straus Family Creamery is one of several dairies buying organic milk from Point Reyes ranchers to process into their high-quality yogurts, cream topped milks, heavy cream, and decadent ice creams. Their red on white branding is hard to miss. On our drive to the trailhead, we passed several ranch driveways with the Straus Creamery logo out front, letting passersby know that they are part of the organic dairy network.
If you have eaten Cowgirl Creamery cheese, filled your breakfast bowl with Straus Family Creamery’s organic yogurt, or eaten ice cream at JoJo’s Creamery (made with Straus dairy), then there is a chance the milk that made it came from a Point Reyes cow. As happy as we were walking that trail with our son, I can only imagine those cows, walking the same paths as us, sunning themselves on the beach, eating the salt licked seagrass, make incredible milk. If happy cows do indeed come from California, as the old ad campaign suggests, I’m pretty sure the happiest live in Point Reyes. And happy cows make great cheese, and everything else.
Recipe
Creamy Peas and Prosciutto Pasta
Coming off the madness of the holidays, this dish fulfils three desires. One: spend less money. This works with ingredients largely on hand in my house and can easily be adjusted to use whatever is on hand in yours swapping deli ham or pancetta for the prosciutto, sour cream for the creme fraiche, and whatever half bag of pasta you have that has been hanging out in the cupboard for too long. Two: use up the leftover odds and ends from the holidays - cue the almost empty bottle of Straus heavy cream and the half a package of prosciutto. Three: it is simple and comforting. I was making this for my lunch when our son came home from preschool. He had already eaten his peanut butter sandwich at school but insisted on sitting down for a second lunch with me where he devoured a small bowl of this pasta. Between mouthfuls he mumbled, “This is so yummy. I love pasta.” What else could you ask for?
Serves 2 – 4
1 cup frozen petite peas
Salt
½ lb. farfalle, garganelli or fusilli pasta
1 T. butter
4 oz. prosciutto
100 ml heavy cream, such as Straus Organic
2 T. crème fraiche (optional, replace with heavy cream if not using)
White pepper
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
While the water is coming to a boil, add 1 cup of water to a large sauté pan along with the frozen peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat. Cook for 6 – 8 minutes until tender, sweet and the water has reduced by at least half. Transfer the peas and their cooking liquid to a small bowl.
When the pot of water is boiling, salt the water then add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions for al dente, about ten minutes.
While the pasta is cooking, return the large sauté pan to the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and melt until foamy. While butter is melting, slice prosciutto into thin strips about ¼ inch thick. Add prosciutto to butter. Increase the heat to medium high and sauté for 2-3 minutes until pieces begin to render some fat and crisp. At this point add the peas back in along with their cooking liquid, cream, and crème fraiche (if using). Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Stir and bring to a simmer reducing heat to medium. Let thicken slightly. Add pasta when al dente and cook in the sauce for another 1 to 2 minutes until the cream thickens and coats the pasta. Serve immediately. Note, if your sauce is too dry, add some pasta water to thin it out.
To Drink…
A Tribute to Grace Grenache Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard, California 2020
I love when I buy a wine to try and stash it away in the wine cellar just to rediscover it months later - a sort of postcard to my future self. My office mate had been telling me about this producer for some time – great wines, female winemaker, California – you have to try it, he said. Finally, I tripped across A Tribute to Grace in our local wine shop and picked up a bottle of their 100% Grenache vowing to open it when I had time to appreciate it. That time is now.
That it is a pale, cherry red in the glass should not fool you. This is no lightweight wine. Complex floral aromas and spice mingle with an elegant, long finish. The Grenache is grown north of Los Angeles near Ojai in the Sierra Madre Mountains at a vineyard working with sustainable growing practices. The technical notes for this wine have a satisfyingly Californianess to them, letting you know that the grapes were harvested with the moon in Leo and bottled in Sagittarius, essential notes to anyone practicing or interested in biodynamic viticulture. But that my friends, is for another post. For now, find yourself a bottle of this wine, put it in your closet or cellar, and ‘rediscover’ in on a gloomy winter day when you need a boost of California sunshine.
Available at Wine Connection in San Diego, Wine.com, or direct from the winery, from $48.
Perhaps my favorite post! I felt like I was hiking along with you. Beautiful, Amy!