10 Delicious Reasons to buy Real Parmesan Cheese

I work with a guy, Graham, who despite limited cooking facilities is pretty interested in cooking for himself and eating well. I suggested he try making Alfredo Sauce which is so quick, simple, easy and yet absolutely delicious. See here for easy Alfredo Sauce recipe.

When I got to the Parmesan bit he asked if the ready grated would work or would he have to buy it in the piece and I related to him a tale I had heard years ago of grated “Parmesan” being made of grated umbrella handles. 

I thought I’d try to find the truth of the matter. I wondered if it was an urban myth but was surprised to find that not only is it true; a guy in Italy in 1969 was in fact doing the dirty deed but, furthermore and coincidentally, the matter seems to be trending!

Apparently the FDA recently found that  one company’s “100% grated Parmesan Cheese.”  was a mixture of other cheeses and cellulose. So they went on to investigate other grated “parmesan” producers and you can read what the FDA discovered here.

According to the Guardian it probably won’t kill you but, call me a foodie if you will, I want more from my food than just surviving the experience and expect you do to. So my answer to Graham is:

“Buy the real thing”

Here are 10+ good reasons to buy delicious real Parmesan cheese …

1.      Peppered Parmesan Popcorn

Simples – just toss freshly popped corn with butter, freshly grated Parmesan and lots of freshly grated black pepper. 

Here’s a tune to listen to while you pop! 

2.    Add Parmesan to Pangrattato

You might not know what I am talking about but see here for this Quick Cheap Easy Way to Improve Almost Any Meal.

3.    La Macronade

This is basically hot cooked pasta tossed with the rich juices from a meaty stew and layered up with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan. Finish with a layer of parmesan (and I don’t think it’s traditional but I’d add a handful of breadcrumbs to the top layer for extra crunch) then grill or pop in a hot oven till the top is golden.

4.   Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Polenta – enough for 4

700ml vegetable stock
145g cornmeal

2 teaspoons roasted garlic - see here for how to roast garlic 

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

~   Bring the water to a boil and stir in the Oxo cube, if using, till dissolved.
~   Slightly moisten the cornmeal till it is the texture of wet sand (this is a trick to keep the polenta smooth taught to me by a girl I used to work with, Cardella,  in the West Indies - for which I thank her).

~   Add the wet cornmeal to the boiling water and stir in thoroughly.
~   Turn down the heat and simmer stirring almost all the time, it will thicken quite quickly but still needs to simmer for another 10 minutes or so till completely cooked.
~   Stir in the roasted garlic and the cheese, taste and season (I like lots of pepper) and serve immediately topped by something delicious and savoury.

Leftover polenta is delicious fried by the way - 7 ways to use leftover polenta here.

5.   Salad of Roasted Pears with Shavings of the Best Parmesan you can find

1 not quite ripe pear per person
20g butter per person
½ tablespoon soft light brown sugar per person
½ tablespoon of sherry or balsamic vinegar per person
tender salad leaves
some great Parmesan in the piece

~   Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 2.
~   Peel the pears, remove the core, and cut them into wedges.
~   When the oven is hot put the butter and the sugar into an appropriate sized ovenproof dish and heat in the oven till the butter has melted.
~   At the pear wedges and toss to coat.
~   Cook for about 10 minutes till tender.
~   Remove the pears from the pan and set aside to cool somewhat.
~   Stir the vinegar into the juices in the pan, taste and season and also set aside to cool.
~   To serve toss a handful of salad leaves per person in the juices and arrange on plates or in a bowl.
~   Arrange the pear wedges on top and then using a potato peeler shave a generous amount of Parmesan over the salad.

6.   Mushrooms on Toast with (Black Garlic if you can get it) Alfredo

Mushrooms in Black Garlic Alfredo recipe here.

7.   Stir into soup as in this Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Soup from my soup recipe cookbook which gives one key recipe plus all the info I can think of and 60+ soups based on the key recipe.

8.   Parmesan and Garlic Butter 

Just add freshly grated Parmesan to garlic butter and use in all sorts of fabulous ways such as ...

     ~   garlic bread
     ~   swirl into hot soup
     ~   chill and slice to top steak, chicken, fish etc.
or asparagus!
     ~   serve on corn
     ~   spread in appropriate sandwiches
     ~   pop in a jacket potato
     ~   add to mashed potato
     ~   after pan frying something and setting aside to rest stir the butter into the juices  for a quick sauce
     ~   add to pasta or risotto
     ~   etc.

Read more about compound butters here.

9.   Asparagus & Parmesan Sauce or Pesto

Cook asparagus till tender but not at all mushy and purée with butter and Parmesan cheese for a simple sauce or with the classic Pesto ingredients; garlic, Parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts, to be almost authentic. Stir through cooked peas, hot pasta or serve as a dip.

10.   Don’t throw away Parmesan rinds!

~ Simmer in tomato sauces or soups, as is traditional when making Minestrone, or in any sauce or soup that you would grate Parmesan over.
~ Parmesan broth – simmer rinds in chicken or vegetable stock together with your choice of flavourings for an hour or more. Strain and use the broth in soup, sauces, and risotto.
~ Marinate in olive oil together with flavourings such as herbs, garlic, black peppercorns or chilli. Discard the rind and use the oil to drizzle or dip.

As you may know I am a bugger for leftovers so please see here for 64 Ideas for Leftover Cheese many of which can be made with Parmesan (plus a Joke!) 

Fire Balls, Fungi Music, Moko Jumbies ~ Full Moon Party!

I REALLY DO APOLOGISE FOR MY TARDINESS IN POSTING ~ NO INTERNET IN THE BAY (where our boat is parked) FOR AGES!

~  Menu  ~

Mozzarella stuffed Fungi Cakes

Spicy Tomato Salsa

Glass of Amstel Light

Friday night was full moon and what a beauty it was.  We sat in the pointy end romantically eating our leftover pizza dinner and watching her rise and form a silver path across the sea straight to us.  Great, but …

The bay was heaving with boats, overloaded rubber dinghies full of people whooping Americanly (no offence, Americans, but many of you are a bit on the whoopy side!) criss-crossing in front of us, almost hitting each other.  Long term liveaboards like us scurrying home to their boats, hoping not to get run down.  “It’s gonna be a rough night” they say, scowling (many liveaboards are middle aged).  

Every month Trellis Bay holds a Full Moon Party and it’s pretty good, actually.  Great if you are a visitor with all sorts of interesting delights; limbo dancers, fire jugglers, live music, mocko jumbies * – I do like a nice moko jumbie, me! – and large sculptured metal balls in the sea filled with fire.

The live music can also be both pleasant and interesting especially if a fungi ** band is performing.  Unfortunately for grumpy people such as us the recorded music which fills in between live acts can be, to our old ears, crap (to use a musical term).  That rhythmic beat with indecipherable talking over it, interspersed with the relaxing sound of sirens or, possible, a guy going “Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaah” does nothing for us so after the best bit of the show we batten down the hatches and try to get engrossed in a good book.

Still, mustn’t grumble – it’s a great evening, well worth a visit you happen to be in the area.

Moko Jumbies

* Jumbies are spirits and moko jumbies are human beings dressed up and dancing (brilliantly) on high, high stilts with the purpose of mocking the spirits although I’m not sure why!

Fungi Music

** Nothing to do with mushrooms this is traditional British Virgin Island Music, sort of skiffley, using homemade instruments such as gourds, bottles, washboards etc. and usually telling a story either from folklore or real life; maybe a bit of gossip.  It is apparently a “mix up” of African and European music; the beat of Africa combined with the Waltz, 2-step etc. as overheard by slaves!!  Strange but true.

The music is, apparently, named after the traditional island dish of fungi which also has nothing to do with mushrooms and is also a “mix up”; cornmeal mush with vegetables, usually including okra, mixed into it.  Cornmeal mush (variously called polenta, fungi, milho, etc.) is a staple dish all over the world.  Down island it is called coo-coo which makes B.V. Islanders snigger as this means poo here!  On that unappetizing note here is a recipe for a particularly delicious fungi …

Fungi Recipe

4 spring onions or a small red onion

½ a red or yellow pepper

6-8 pieces of okra

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp vegetable oil

750ml water

125ml milk

170g coarse cornmeal

40g butter

salt and white pepper

~   Coarsely chop the vegetables and sauté in a saucepan in the oil till softening and browning. 
~   Remove and set aside.
~   Use a little of the water to moisten the cornmeal so that it resembled wet sand. 
~   Put the rest of the water and the milk in the pan and bring to a boil.
~   Add the cornmeal, in as much of a slow stream as you can manage with wet sand, to the pan and return to a boil, whisking. The mixture will thicken considerably, but …
~   Turn the heat down and simmer and stir constantly for about 10 minutes till thick and creamy.
~   Taste and season and stir in the cooked vegetables. 
~   Simmer for a few minutes more and serve as a side dish to something tropical – grilled fish or jerk chicken, for instance.

3 Notes on Making Polenta ...

~   I am inclined to use stock instead of water but this isn't traditional.
~   If you just want to make polenta leave out the vegetables and instead stir in a knob of butter and 30g finely grated Parmesan.
~   The moistening of the cornmeal is handy hint, told to me by a fine cook who worked with me; Cardella.  It stops the cornmeal clumping and makes for a smooth polenta/fungi/coo-coo or whatever.

And so to lunch …

Cold leftover fungi is delicious fried – for lunch I rolled cold fungi into balls and stuffed them with a nugget of mozzarella.  Flattened into cakes, coated in cornmeal and fried to crisp they made a fine lunch together with some spicy tomato salsa and a refreshing glass of beer

See here for lots more ideas for leftover polenta.