Green Dirt Farm- Cheese Tasting & Chef’s Lunch

Green Dirt Farm is a collaboration between Sarah Hoffman (cheesemaker) and friend Jacqueline Smith (sheep farmer).  Set 45 minutes north of Kansas City, Green Dirt Farm is a fully functioning sheep farm that raises lamb and produces sheep's milk to make cheese in their on-site facility.  A vision of owner Sarah that lives on the property, she turned the original barn into a place to host family and friends and now the general public through exclusive farm dinners with local notable chefs once a month. 

We were lucky enough to get a private tour and enjoy a lunch in the beautiful barn that is made of recycled materials and that holds a stained glass window from an old church.  To start, we enjoyed a cheese tasting that included their Fresh Plain Sheep's milk cheese for which they have won awards.  They have also won awards for their Dirt Lover, which is their take on a classic ash dusted French style farmhouse cheese with a bloomy rind (a fan favorite!), and the Bossa, a washed rind cheese that gives this cheese its unique flavor and orange colored rind.  The cheeses are all unique in flavor and have an earthy aroma which they credit to the grass-fed ewes who eat only the naturally occurring clover, legumes, flowers, and prairie grasses.  They also offer two seasonal selections, the Woolly Rind (a camembert style cheese) and the Queen of the Prairie (a gruyere style cheese), as well as several flavored fresh cheeses.  The farm is also now producing sheep's milk yogurts in plain and flavors, we sampled the Cranberry Peach Ginger.  The event manager had a selection of local beers by Boulevard Brewing as well as local wines to pair with the cheeses and lunch.

The lunch was prepared by Chef Ted Habiger, owner of Room 39 which is a local favorite.  Ted is a favorite for the Farm Chef's Dinners and prepared a seasonal, farm inspired menu for the ICCA Fall Culinary Immersion.  The appetizers were an offal pate and a lamb tartar served on crostinis that were prepared with GDF's own lamb that Ted receives fresh on a regular basis to his restaurants.  For the family style lunch, Ted prepared a fresh cheese gnocchi with a wonderful nettle pesto.  The second dish was curried chick peas with a yogurt sauce made from GDF's plain sheep's yogurt.  The next dish was a medley of roasted winter squash with apples and seasoned with rosemary.  The main was a Merguez sausage stuffed that morning using GDF's lamb which was lean and flavorful.  For dessert, Chef Ted prepared a Bossa Cheese ice cream garnished with a pistachio cookie.

The meal was excellent and prompted a large group to head to Room 39 for brunch which was equally delicious.  The staff of Green Dirt Farm prepared a beautiful setting and were the most hospitable.  If ever in the Kansas City area, look them up for a tour or a seat at their next farm dinner.