For the past week or so, the Whole Foods blog Whole Story has been looking for original recipes to "find and share fresh and innovative ways" to enjoy Parmigiano Reggiano. With over 900 1,000 entries, I think this will be a tough contest for the judges!
Yes, I did enter a recipe - a dessert entry, actually - which looks like this:
Raspberry and Parmegiano puff pastries with chocolate sauce
Notes before cooking: It is best to cook the puff pastries directly before serving, as they taste best fresh and warm.
INGREDIENTS:
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- Puff pastry
- Raspberries, approx. 1/4 cup per person
- Agave nectar
- Nutmeg
- Hot fudge or dark chocolate sauce
- Crème fraiche, whipped cream, or clotted cream (your preference)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Drizzle agave nectar over raspberries. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Blend enough to coat the berries. Refrigerate while preparing other ingredients. (If you don’t have agave, can substitute sugar, and allow at least 2 hrs to chill.)
Slice puff pastry into either: 2″ squares. Space on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place in preheated oven to bake approx 12 minutes while you prepare the cheese.
Using smaller-sized shredding holes, shred the Parmigiano Reggiano – you will want approximately 1/4-1/3 cup of shredded cheese per pastry. If you do not have a shredder, you can thinly slice (about 2-3mm) the cheese instead.
When the puff pastry has baked approximately 12 minutes, open the oven, pull the tray forward, and heap shredded Parmigiano over the top of each pastry. (Squares will have puffed up in the middle.) Or, if you’re using slices, evenly cover the top of each pastry. Return pastries to oven and allow to bake another 7-8 minutes. (The melting cheese will cause the middle of the pastry to slightly concave.)
Remove pastries from oven. Individually plate. Drizzle hot fudge/chocolate over the top of each pastry. Dollop a teaspoon of Crème fraiche (or alternative) atop the center of the pastry. Sprinkle with more fresh grated Parmigiano. Spoon raspberries over the top of each pastry, and serve.
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Note: You can also roll the puff pastry slightly thinner, coat it with a layer of shredded Parmigiano, and place a second layer of pastry over it. This will create a melted layer of cheese in the middle. If you do so, lower the oven to 350, add the cheese topping at 15 minutes, and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes to ensure pastry is thoroughly cooked.
INGREDIENTS:
- Parmigiano Reggiano
- Puff pastry
- Raspberries, approx. 1/4 cup per person
- Agave nectar
- Nutmeg
- Hot fudge or dark chocolate sauce
- Crème fraiche, whipped cream, or clotted cream (your preference)
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Drizzle agave nectar over raspberries. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Blend enough to coat the berries. Refrigerate while preparing other ingredients. (If you don’t have agave, can substitute sugar, and allow at least 2 hrs to chill.)
Slice puff pastry into either: 2″ squares. Space on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place in preheated oven to bake approx 12 minutes while you prepare the cheese.
Using smaller-sized shredding holes, shred the Parmigiano Reggiano – you will want approximately 1/4-1/3 cup of shredded cheese per pastry. If you do not have a shredder, you can thinly slice (about 2-3mm) the cheese instead.
When the puff pastry has baked approximately 12 minutes, open the oven, pull the tray forward, and heap shredded Parmigiano over the top of each pastry. (Squares will have puffed up in the middle.) Or, if you’re using slices, evenly cover the top of each pastry. Return pastries to oven and allow to bake another 7-8 minutes. (The melting cheese will cause the middle of the pastry to slightly concave.)
Remove pastries from oven. Individually plate. Drizzle hot fudge/chocolate over the top of each pastry. Dollop a teaspoon of Crème fraiche (or alternative) atop the center of the pastry. Sprinkle with more fresh grated Parmigiano. Spoon raspberries over the top of each pastry, and serve.
—-
Note: You can also roll the puff pastry slightly thinner, coat it with a layer of shredded Parmigiano, and place a second layer of pastry over it. This will create a melted layer of cheese in the middle. If you do so, lower the oven to 350, add the cheese topping at 15 minutes, and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes to ensure pastry is thoroughly cooked.
* * *
But there were two recipes I created in my weekend experimental baking fest that I felt were pretty tasty as well. However, I chose not to enter either because there just were an awful lot of variants on __ parmesan or cheese-baked potatoes.
Since I didn't post them over there, y'all get to enjoy them over here, complete with pictures:
Modern parmesan
The following could be made with veal, chicken or eggplant slices.
Basic tomato sauce:
- 24 oz. can of stewed/roasted tomatoes
- 12 oz. can of tomato paste (get 'Italian style' if you like for flavor)
- herbs of choice
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- several mushrooms, diced or thinly sliced
- 1 small onion or 1 large shallot, diced
Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil or butter in a pot over low heat; add celery, mushrooms and onions/shallots. Allow to simmer for a couple minutes as you ready the tomato cans.
Pour liquid from can of stewed tomatoes into the celery/onions/mushroom mix. Using your hands, a pair of knives, or a few pulses in a food processor or blender, break the stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces and add to mix as well. Add tomato paste; stir thoroughly to blend.
Add herbs/spices if you have not chosen to use pre-flavored tomatoes or paste. I like to use sweet paprika, freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of sea salt, cayenne, thyme, rosemary, and dried garlic.
Main dish:
- slices of eggplant/chicken/veal
- polenta flour (or corn meal) approx 1/2 cup
- shredded Parmegiano cheese
- grated Parmegiano cheese, 2-4 Tbsp
- depending on how many slices you are making, 1-2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- angel hair pasta
- leeks, broccoli and red peppers, cut to bite-size pieces
Blend the grated Parmegiano and the polenta on a plate.
Coat the eggplant/chicken/veal with egg whites, and lay on the polenta/cheese mix; thoroughly coat slices.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan (approx 1/2-1 Tbsp) with a sliced garlic clove. Once it has warmed, remove the clove and lay the coated slices in the pan. Cook on one side and flip over. Load shredded Parmegiano on top, and put a lid over the pan, so that the cheese will melt as the eggplant/meat finishes cooking.
Toss cooked angel hair pasta with some of the shredded Parmegiano. Put a serving (1/2-2/3 cup) onto a plate; place one of the cooked fillets on top. Spoon a small amount of the tomato sauce on top.
Put 1/2 tsp of olive oil in the same frying pan you cooked the fillets in; add the leeks, broccoli and red peppers. Lightly sauteé; then spoon over your pasta/fillet/sauce.
Lamb chops with Parmegiano potatoes
This recipe is easy enough to take the basic recipe (serving for a single person) and simply multiply by how many people you're looking to serve.
Per person:
- 1 large Yukon gold potato, cubed (NOT peeled)
- 2 or 3 lamb chops
- handful of kale (I prefer Italian, but up to you)
- heaping Tbsp of diced red peppers or loosely chopped grape tomatoes
- 1/2 cup grated Parmegiano cheese
- 1 Tbsp Greek yogurt
Add a pinch of sea salt to water and put potatoes to boil. Will take approx 10-15 minutes to make them fork-tender, depending on how small you cubed them. Once the potatoes have cooked, drain well, do not need to rinse. In a bowl, smash the potatoes with 1 Tbsp of butter and 1/2 cup grated Parmegiano per potato. If you have cream or milk, you may want to add a splash for consistency.
Over medium heat in a frying pan, use a small amount of olive oil or butter. Pat dry the lamp chops and place to cook in the pan. Sprinkle a small amount of the Baharat over the chops. Put lid over pan and allow to cook halfway; once they are half-cooked, use tongs to flip the chops over, and sprinkle a bit more Baharat on the cooked side of the chops. Once they are cooked, remove from pan; sprinkle with some more Baharat and keep covered.
Slice the kale into ribbons. Toss and lightly sauteé in the frying pan. (Do not cook til soggy or overcooked!). May choose to squeeze a touch of lemon over the kale.
Add kale to plate, then put a scoop of the cheesey smashed potatoes on the kale. Sprinkle liberally with some more grated Parmegiano. Arrange 2-3 chops per plate and sprinkle red pepper/tomatotes for garnish/flavor.
For a dipping sauce, blend 1 Tbsp of Greek yogurt with an equal amount of grated cheese, plus a pinch of the Baharat. Spoon onto the side of the plate, or in a ramekin.
¹ If you don't have Baharat, make a simple blend of 2 parts of paprika, to 1 part each of cinnamon, nutmeg, chili or cayenne, and with a pinch of black pepper.
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