Leftover Cheese (an oxymoron in my book) as Michael posted above. What to do with Parm-Reggiano?

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florisandy

Well-known member
I have just shy of a half lb. left after making Food and Wine's Orecchiette with Veal, Capers and White Wine a couple of weeks ago. I could not detect the cheese too well in that dish that I found to be just mediocre, but then, I didn't follow the recipe too closely.

Does anyone have any suggestions for using this "primo" cheese for maximum taste without using the whole 1/2 lb. at once?

 
For me, the best way to taste Parmigiano Reggiano (besides eating it plain), is to grate or shave it

over dishes after plating. If you're going for "maximum taste," that would be it.

The second best thing is to quickly toss it into the warm pan with the rest of the dish, just until coated. It looks like the recipe you used may have mixed it into the rest of the sauce too long, and it dissipated OR maybe it just wasn't enough cheese for that amount of food. Also, I'm not wild about the butter idea - that may have diluted the parmigiano taste a little - I prefer pasta tossed with extra virgin olive oil. But in the end, this is just guesswork.

 
Rind for flavor

After you have used most of the hunk of cheese grated or shaved for many dishes as Meryl suggests, use the rind for flavor in soups and stews.

 
I use parmesan in everything: breads, pizza, quiches, on past dishes, baked potato

heck I even shave parmesan into my soups LOL.

But to really get most out of the taste, try the Asparagus Milnese recipe I posted a few weeks back. It's just asparagus, eggs, salt and parmesan. Yum!

 
I buy Parm-Reggiano and put the whole wedge into my food processor

and whizz away. I save all the rinds for freezing and add to soups, chiles, etc. I keep my parm in a glass jar, sealed tight in the refer. It keep very well for weeks and it ready to go when I need it. I also keep another wedge in my refer sealed in a Food Saver bag. I use that if I want shaved parm.

 
I usually freeze it and then shave off bits onto pasta, green beans, etc.

Rinds usually go into minestrone for a while.

 
I think you're right about the cheese dissipating in the sauce Meryl. I might just

try this dish again using more cheese. I loved the orecchiette ("little hats" as they're called) and they really are tasty and held the ground veal and sauce very well.

 
Hey! Slow down there buckaroo!!! Before you do that, go buy yourself

a food saver. It's worth it's price for cheese. I use it all the time and for my beautiful, expensive Parm/Regg it's priceless. It keeps it as if you just bought it yesterday. Truly! I never pre-shred it. I do it fresh. It doesn't matter if I need it shredded, shaved or whatever I always have it to do whatever I want. I use it for all my cheeses. Keeps them forever. I got it when John would go off on a trip, for instance to Saipan for 4 1/2 months, and I had just bought a block of expensive Parm. I really was desperate and it really does the trick. Just vacuum seal it after each use and it's ready and fresh when you want it again. Really!

 
Agreed! I love my food saver for Parm. I opened a pack of sliced provolone from 9 months ago...

and it is as fresh as when I first bought it.

The food saver is kinda difficult for soup though. smileys/smile.gif

 
It works with most anything. Some exceptions are liquids or soft things

such as bread. But I'm sure someone knows how to deal with those.

 
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