In celebration of National Dairy Month, Vermonters are virtually obliged to celebrate the almighty Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss during the month of June. And rightly so – the dairy industry is tops in the state, accounting for nearly 75% of Vermont’s total agricultural sales.
Vermonters have capitalized on ways of turning fluid milk into highly coveted value-added products: butter, ice cream, yogurt, and cheese. One company, Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, has been making cow and goat cheese in Websterville, Vermont, since 1984. Sourcing from approximately two dozen family farms in Vermont, they make a variety of fresh and young style cheeses in old world tradition, including Feta, Bonne Bouche, Crottin, Bijou, and Mascarpone.
This appetizer, which combines mascarpone with early spring spinach, comes from In a Cheesemaker’s Kitchen, published in 2009 by Allison Hooper, co-founder of Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery. This cookbook is available in the University of Vermont’s Department of Special Collections (call number: TX759.5 .C48 H66 2009).
Warm Spinach Mascarpone Dip
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces frozen chopped spinach
8 ounces mascarpone
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the onion with olive oil until translucent. Add frozen spinach and heat until spinach is hot but still green. Add mascarpone, salt, pepper, cayenne, Parmesan cheese and stir. Pour the mixture into a small casserole or baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling around the edges. Serve warm with pita chips or a sliced baguette.
This blog post is part of a series highlighting recipes that interweave the culture and history of cooking in Vermont, and is related to the Vermont Foodways Digital Initiative.
