Confession… I love cheese! Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the top five foods I would take with me to a desert island. Since Parmigiano Reggiano is basically the only ingredient, these Frico Cheese Crisps may be the perfect food!
This is a super-easy snack for the late afternoon crispy crunchy cravings. It is hard to improve on Parmesan Reggiano as is but this preparation is pretty amazing! I like to eat them along with My Old Cuban Cocktail.
I tend to buy the giant 1 pound wedge at Costco because it is a great deal and will last a little longer than a tiny little chunks from the market.
The taste is salty, sharp and sweet, it has a crumbly grainy texture with white crystals. The crystal bits are called tyrosine, which are actually amino acid clusters that form and are signs of a well-aged cheese.
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Fun Facts
Parmigiano-Reggiano is a cheese made with extremely precise ingredients, It is produced in a 10,000-sq-km geographical area of Italy so specific that you can make Parmigiano on one side of the small city of Bologna but not the other.
It is a good source of protein and fat and is rich in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, vitamin A, vitamins B6 and B12, phosphorus, zinc. One ounce of parmesan contains about 10 grams of protein. According to a report about parmesan cheese and bone health published in the US National Library of Medicine, authentic parmesan is easy to digest due to its probiotic effects and it is rich in calcium. According to the report, the cheese’s high calcium content can be beneficial for bone health and osteoporosis prevention.
I love that there are so many great excuses to consume more cheese!!
You may want to try these
Frico Cheese Crisps
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 10 crisps 1x
Description
The yummiest salty-crunchy-cheese snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan
- Various herbs and spices
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F
- Place parchment on a baking sheet.
- Put 2 spoonfuls of the cheese mixture on the parchment and spread out with your fingers or a fork to make a 4-5” circle. You want a thin layer that will create the lacy look once cooked.
- Place in oven for 6 minutes, check the color. If turning slightly brown, remove from oven, otherwise leave in for another minute.
- Removed from the oven and as soon as it is cool enough to handle, lift off the parchment with a spatula, place over a rolling pin and let cool (This will create the curved shape). They are very hot when taken out of the oven but cool quickly, so the timing is key if you want the rolled shape.
- You can also let them cool flat as well.
Notes
I made a couple of variations:
Toasted fennel seeds – ½ teaspoon or to taste
½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence – or to taste
Ground black pepper
You may want to try this with other hard cheeses such as Pecorino Romano or Manchego.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian
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