This summer pasta was inspired by our recent trip to visit Katie at Capra Nera Creamery in Alutra, MN. Rachael used the farmstead Capra Nera flagship Contadina with house-made ricotta and mixed with beautiful fresh squash blossoms that just hit our markets. Katie Bonow’s (owner, icon, cheesemaker and goat midwife) very first goat was a Nubian named Blossom and it just so happens that squash blossoms are just in season! The shape, Cappellacci, is shaped like a straw sun hat and dates all the way back to the 1500s. A bright and thoughtful way to celebrate this season.

We had so much fun on our trip to Capra Nera Creamery. Alexander loves goats it turns out and Katie’s son Oren was an amazing junior-host. The goat milk latte, coffee topped with milk straight from the goats, was a treat to start the tour and Rachael loved observing a full cheese make.

Capra Nera Creamery

We love farmstead cheese and there isn’t better that Capra Nera. From Driflessfood.com by Kristine Jepsen, Today, Capra Nera Creamery produces Contadina cheese and limited edition Italian seasonal varieties like rosemary asiago. The Contadina, a hard cheese Katie says tastes like “cheddar crossed with Parmesan,” is available year-round in a variety of locations across the Driftless (see below for details).

All her cheese – 1,500 pounds of it a year! – comes from Katie’s 25 goats, which produce milk once a day March through December. All the milking happens in a 1970s cow parlor that Katie and her husband, Ryan, retrofitted for goats. Katie processes 30 gallons of milk into cheese every other day on average, a frequency that keeps the milk fresh – and not ‘goaty’ tasting. She is known for wheels of masterful hard cheeses weighing four to eight pounds, aged at 50-55 degrees for 60 days or more.”