Penne with Pea Pesto, Sugar Snap Peas, and Pecorino
Whole-Wheat Linguine with Asparagus, Bacon, Garlic, and Parmesan
Penne with Pea Pesto, Sugar Snap Peas, and Pecorino
From late spring to early summer, when our winery garden is producing tender peas, Brian makes a delicate pasta sauce with them. It’s not worth making the pesto with starchy peas, so wait for that perfect cusp-of-summer moment. Serve this pasta as a first course, followed by Slow-Roasted King Salmon with Garden Herbs or spring lamb chops. On another occasion, spread the pea pesto on crostini for an hors d’oeuvre.
SERVES 6
PEA PESTO
¾ cup shelled English peas (from about ¾ pound fresh peas)
1 small clove garlic, smashed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese, plus more for topping
Kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound dried penne or other short pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup shelled English peas (from about 1 pound fresh peas)
½ pound sugar snap peas, ends trimmed, halved crosswise
Freshly ground black pepper
For the pea pesto: Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the peas and blanch for 30 seconds, or a little longer if the peas are large. Drain and cool quickly in ice water, then drain again. Place the peas in a food processor with the garlic, mint, pecorino, and a pinch of salt. Pulse until well chopped. With the motor running, add the olive oil through the feed tube. Puree until the pesto is nearly but not completely smooth. A slightly coarse texture is pleasing.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the English peas and a pinch of salt. Sauté for about 2 minutes, then add ½ cup of the boiling pasta water. Simmer until the peas are almost tender, about 5 minutes, adding more hot pasta water if necessary. Add the sugar snap peas and sauté until they lose their raw taste, 1 to 2 minutes.
Set aside about 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Return it to the hot pot and add the braised peas, pea pesto, and several grinds of black pepper. Toss well, moistening with some of the reserved pasta water. Divide among 6 warm bowls. Top each portion with a little grated pecorino. Serve immediately.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay or another medium- to full-bodied white wine.
When our wine-club members receive their wine shipment, we include a recipe that we enjoy with the featured bottle. Cakebread resident chef Tom Sixsmith devised this pasta preparation to accompany the Chardonnay Reserve, but you may find that you want to make the dish weekly in asparagus season. The nutty whole-wheat pasta and smoky bacon help combat the notion that asparagus doesn’t go with wine.
SERVES 6
1½ pounds large asparagus
6 slices bacon, preferably thick-cut
1 pound whole-wheat linguine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus. Slice the spears about ¼ inch thick on a sharp diagonal, so that the pieces are roughly 1½ inches long. Cut the bacon into ½-inch-wide pieces.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over moderately high heat. Add the bacon and cook until it renders some of its fat and begins to crisp, about 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and sauté, stirring, until it softens slightly, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and olive oil and cook for about 1 minute to release the garlic fragrance.
Set aside about 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Return it to the hot pot. Add the contents of the skillet and the grated cheese. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water as needed to moisten the pasta. Divide among 6 warm bowls. Top each portion with a little additional Parmesan. Serve immediately.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve or another rich, barrel-fermented Chardonnay.
When Jody Denton participated in the 2006 Workshop, he made delicate ricotta gnocchi in a sauce similar to the one outlined here. Chef Denton used wild boar sausage from Broken Arrow Ranch, our longtime game supplier, but Italian pork sausage is a more readily available substitute. It takes practice to master gnocchi, but Chef Denton’s delicious sauce is just as appealing with rigatoni.
SERVES 8
1 small globe eggplant, about 1 pound, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casing removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups peeled, seeded, and diced plum tomatoes (fresh or canned)
3-inch piece of Parmesan rind (optional)
¼ cup torn fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound rigatoni or penne
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing
Put the eggplant cubes in a colander set over a bowl. Add 2 teaspoons salt and toss well. Let drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze the eggplant cubes vigorously to release additional moisture, then set aside on paper towels.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant and sauté until browned in spots and tender, about 10 minutes. (Taste to be sure.)
In a large pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it is finely crumbled and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté briefly to release its fragrance. Add the tomatoes, Parmesan rind, and basil. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors. Stir in the eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Remove the Parmesan rind.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss well, add the cheese, and toss again, moistening with reserved pasta water if needed. Serve immediately in 8 warm bowls and pass additional Parmesan cheese.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Zinfandel or another robust red wine.
Brian teaches a paella class at the winery occasionally to help take the fear out of preparing rice the Spanish way. It’s a great dish for parties because guests love watching paella come together, the flavors and fragrance building as ingredients are added. Brian cooks his paella by the traditional method, outdoors over a hardwood fire. Gauging the heat of the fire is the only challenge; if it is too hot, the rice will scorch. Be sure to let the coals burn down until they are well covered with white ash before starting. And if you still lack confidence after trying this recipe, sign up for the class.
Paella tastes best warm, not hot, so allow for some cooling time.
SERVES 6
½ cup Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked sweet paprika (pimentón de la Vera dulce)
¼ teaspoon saffron threads
18 large shell-on shrimp
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ pound sea scallops
Kosher salt
2 large yellow onions, minced
1 large red bell pepper, minced
1½ cups canned plum tomatoes, pureed
2 cups medium-grain Spanish rice, preferably Bomba or Calasparra variety
4 to 6 cups hot fish stock
1½ cups cooked chickpeas
1 pound manila or cherrystone clams
¾ pound mussels
2 ounces Spanish chorizo, thinly sliced on the diagonal
½ cup thinly sliced scallions (green part only)
In a small saucepan, combine the wine, paprika, and saffron. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover and set aside to steep for 30 minutes.
With a serrated knife, slit the shrimp down the back and lift out the black vein but leave the shell on.
Prepare a medium-hot charcoal fire. When the coals are well coated with white ash, put a 15-inch paella pan on the grill rack to preheat. Add ¼ cup olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and cook until pink on both sides, about 1½ minutes per side, then set the shrimp aside. They will not be fully cooked.
Season the scallops with salt. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and sear the scallops until lightly browned on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Set them aside. They will not be fully cooked.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. Add the onions, bell pepper, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the onions and pepper are soft and sweet, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes to develop flavor. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until hot to the touch, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add 4 cups hot stock, the chickpeas, and the wine mixture. Stir to blend, then season to taste with salt. Cook at a steady simmer without stirring until the rice is about half done, 10 to 12 minutes, then add the clams, pushing them down into the soupy rice. Place the mussels evenly around the pan, setting them slender end up in the rice. Distribute the scallops evenly, tucking them into the rice. When the rice has cooked about 5 minutes more, add the shrimp, then the chorizo, distributing them evenly. Scatter the scallions over all. Add more hot stock only if the rice looks dry. Try not to stir, but if you fear that the rice may be scorching on the bottom, stir briefly to redistribute it.
Continue cooking until the rice is barely al dente, about 20 minutes; it will finish cooking off the heat. Drape the pan loosely with a kitchen towel and let the paella rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay or another full-bodied white wine.
Plate Art
DOLORES HAS INVITED the Napa Valley College Potters Guild to participate in the Workshop for many years, in the belief that supporting local arts helps strengthen the community. The artists who belong to the guild show their wares at the Workshop’s opening-day farmers’ market and chat with the chefs about their ceramic techniques.
The winery has purchased quite a lot of this striking pottery over the years. (Many of the recipes in this book were photographed on Potters Guild pieces; see recipe images for Cucumber Cups with Roasted Beets and Yogurt Dressing; Heirloom Tomato Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette and Chèvre-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers; Pizza with Cremini Mushrooms, New Potatoes, and Crescenza Cheese; Penne with Pea Pesto, Sugar Snap Peas, and Pecorino; and New York Strip Steak with Celery and Blue Cheese Salad.) We use the platters for passed hors d’oeuvres when we entertain, and we bring out many pieces for chefs to use during the Workshop. They are always excited to present their food on these hand-crafted dishes, a marriage that highlights the artistry of both.
On occasion, we have taken the Workshop chefs to visit the potting studio at Napa Valley College, where instructor Rhue Bruggeman encourages them to try their hand at the potter’s wheel. That’s when the chefs realize that, as effortless as it seems when the artist does it, throwing clay takes great focus and skill. Most of them feel as awkward at the potter’s wheel as non-cooks do when they pick up a chef’s knife.
When your menu calls for rice pilaf, consider this aromatic arroz verde instead. The flavor is more herbaceous than spicy, with a subtle sweetness from sautéed onion. You don’t have to limit the rice to occasions when you are serving Mexican food. Try it with grilled pork tenderloin, skirt steaks, or a pork stew.
SERVES 6
1 large poblano chile
1 large jalapeño chile
2½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
¼ cup cilantro leaves, firmly packed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large white onion, minced
1½ cups long-grain white rice
Kosher salt
Under a preheated broiler or directly over a gas flame, roast the poblano and jalapeño chiles until blackened and blistered on all sides. Let cool, then peel, seed, and chop coarsely. Put 1 cup of the stock in a blender with the cilantro and roasted chiles and puree until smooth.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute to toast the rice lightly. Add the remaining 1½ cups stock and the chile puree. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season to taste with salt, then transfer to a serving bowl.
In the minds of many West Coast chefs, the Dungeness crab is the ocean’s finest crustacean. Canadian chef Ned Bell, who attended the 2004 Workshop, showcases the sweet meat in this pasta sauce, which gets some of its creamy body from pureed cauliflower. The dish is rich and worthy of the spotlight, so balance it with a simple butter lettuce salad in a tangy vinaigrette.
SERVES 6 TO 8
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups (about ½ medium head) chopped raw cauliflower
2 cups whole milk
¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
Kosher salt
½ cup mascarpone
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 pound short dried pasta, such as fusilli or penne
1 cup grated aged white Cheddar cheese
½ pound Dungeness crab meat
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion softens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, milk, chile flakes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring just to a simmer, then adjust the heat to simmer gently. Cook, uncovered, until the cauliflower is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Puree in a blender. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the mascarpone and mustard.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and boil until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the warm pot. Add the cauliflower sauce and Cheddar and toss over moderately low heat until the cheese melts. Taste for salt. Add the crab meat and chives and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay or another full-bodied white wine.
At the 1992 Workshop, Chef Jim Mills accompanied rabbit with New Orleans–style “dirty rice,” a pilaf flavored with onion, celery, and chopped chicken livers. Brian makes the dish with Wehani rice, a nutty brown rice of basmati ancestry, created and grown exclusively by California’s Lundberg Family Farms. Serve with Braised Chicken with Cipolline Onions and Carrots or a simple roast chicken, or as a main course with vegetable sides an a salad. (See photo.)
SERVES 4
1 cup Lundberg Wehani rice or brown rice
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ pound fresh chicken livers, trimmed
½ large fennel bulb, minced
1 celery rib, minced
3 scallions, white and green parts, minced
In a small saucepan, combine the rice and 2 cups water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 50 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon salt, stirring it in with a fork. Re-cover and let the rice steam off the heat for 10 minutes.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Season the livers with salt, then sear until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes. They should still be slightly soft to the touch. Set them aside. Add the fennel, celery, and scallions to the skillet and sauté until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Dice the livers and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, then add the rice and toss until blended. Serve immediately.
If you like risotto, you will love this creamy, heart-healthy variation made with barley. Pearled barley is not a whole grain, because it has had much of the bran removed, but it has a lot more fiber than white rice so it’s a healthful choice. Chef David Koelling, a 1990 Workshop participant, adds mushrooms to his barley risotto to make the dish more substantial. Serve it in small portions as a first course or side dish—it would complement roast chicken—or in larger portions as a main course, with a salad.
SERVES 6
¼ ounce dried porcini
2 to 2½ quarts chicken stock, simmering
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1½ cups pearl barley
½ cup dry white wine
⅓ pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cut into ½-inch dice
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the dried porcini in a small bowl and add ½ cup hot water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Lift the porcini out of their soaking liquid to leave any grit behind. Strain the liquid through a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth and add it to the stock. Chop the porcini.
In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the barley and cook, stirring, until it is hot throughout, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the wine and simmer until it has almost evaporated. Begin adding the simmering stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and adding more stock only when the previous addition has been absorbed.
After 10 minutes, add the shiitake and chopped porcini. Continue cooking until the barley is al dente, or pleasantly firm but not chewy, about 35 minutes longer. Stir in the cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay Reserve or Pinot Noir.
The Liberty Ducks we get from Sonoma County Poultry are fed an all-natural diet and allowed to mature for several more weeks than most commercial ducks. As a result, they develop more flavor. The meaty duck legs, braised slowly with aromatic vegetables, make a robust pasta sauce similar in richness and depth to a classic bolognese. Brian shreds the tender duck meat after it’s braised and adds chopped Tuscan kale to the sauce to introduce some fresh garden flavor.
SERVES 6
4 duck legs (about 2 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (2 to 3 ounces) finely diced pancetta
2 medium yellow onions, finely minced
2 celery ribs, finely minced
1 carrot, finely minced
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1½ cups canned plum tomatoes, broken up by hand
½ cup Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
1½ cups chicken stock
Parmesan rind (optional)
1 bunch (10 to 12 ounces) Tuscan kale, central rib removed
¼ cup whole milk
1 pound fresh pappardelle, dried mafaldine, or other long, wide ribbon pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Trim the excess flap of skin on each duck leg and remove visible fat. Season all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the duck, skin side down, and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer the duck to a platter. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat.
Add the pancetta to the pot and cook over medium heat until it renders some of its fat and begins to crisp. Add the onions, celery, carrot, and parsley and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and wine. Bring to a simmer and reduce until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Return the duck to the pot, skin side up. Add the stock and the Parmesan rind (if using) and bring to a simmer. Cover and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer until the meat is tender and pulls readily from the bone, about 1½ hours. Lift the duck legs out of the sauce and set them aside to cool.
Tear each kale leaf into 3 or 4 pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the kale and blanch for 30 seconds, then drain in a sieve and cool quickly under cold running water. Squeeze well to remove excess water. Finely chop.
Pull the duck meat off the bones and dice it. Return it to the sauce and reheat gently. Stir in the kale and the milk. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Set aside 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss well, moistening if necessary with some of the reserved pasta water. Divide among warm bowls and serve immediately. Pass Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Carneros Pinot Noir or another rich Pinot Noir.
