Affected were also a lot of companies that produce Parmesan and Grana Padano. In some cases, entire warehouses containing many years’ worth of cheese were destroyed; for the three largest producers alone, there is talk of more than 300,000 broken loaves, more than a tenth of annual production.
In commemoration of the aftermath of this earthquake, the Italian cheese producer Parmigiano Reggiano organized the Parmigiano Reggiano Night for the third time on Saturday, October 25, 2014. Professionals and amateur chefs around the world cook with Parmesan on this evening, sharing Italian lifestyle.
Of course, I could not refuse the request to participate in this commemorative day with culinary aspect. So we cooked dishes around Parmigiano Reggiano to commemorate this day with friends.
Parmigiano Lollie
To start, there are a few olives, capers, some bread and Parmigiano on a stick.
To do this, first finely grate the Parmigiano Reggiano. Then, preferably with the help of serving rings, form small round piles of Parmesan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for a few minutes, then remove the rings and drape stems in the center of the cookies. Again, layer some Parmesan on top of the stems and bake for another 8 minutes. Decorate with dark sesame or poppy seeds if desired and let cool on baking sheet.
Risotto cacio e pepe
In the current book by Massimo Bottura, I found a wonderful recipe that not only focuses on Parmigiano, but was developed just at the time of the earthquake: An adaptation of the Roman pasta classic Pasta Cacio e Pepe. Bottura presented this recipe at the Slow Food Festival in Turin in the fall of 2012, as a variation on what can be cooked from the Parmesan fragments that are now available in large quantities.
And indeed, this recipe calls for a lot of cheese. The day before, I already finely grated 500g of Parmigiano Reggiano and slowly heated it to 80 degrees with 2l of water, stirring constantly, then let it cool and bring it to 80 degrees again. As soon as the Parmesan in the water forms threads and dissolves, the heat supply should be stopped. At least 24 hours this mixture should cool, then it separates into three layers. At the very top a creamy layer from the fat, under it the liquid Brodo di Parmigiano and then at the bottom the solid components. The risotto is now quite classic,. but dressed exclusively with the brodo, that is, the broth from the Parmesan. Once the desired consistency is reached, you should add another spoonful or two of the Parmesan cream. Bottura creates the Pepe component in the restaurant as a clear infusion with a rotary evaporator. Who does not have such a device in the house (like me) can of course also just give so strong pepper (preferably long pepper) over the risotto. Or let a reduction from a pepper broth reduce very much and arrange on top of the rice when serving, along with some Parmesan.
Tagliata di manzo rucola e parmigiano
For the secondi I use the Parmigiano in its classic form. Grated. And it was over a beef tenderloin on arugula, with capers, olives, toasted pine nuts and small tomatoes that I slow cooked with lots of butter and rosemary. A true classic that I can never pass by when I see it on the menu somewhere in Italy. For my version, I changed only a few small things in the cooking technique of tagliata.
I first cooked the beef tenderloin sous vide for 45 minutes at 50 degrees in the Fusionchef, then grilled it very briefly on all sides under extremely high temperature in the Beefer. Let rest a bit, slice thinly and arrange on the arugula with plenty of salt and olive oil.
Buona sera, signore e signori! Everything else about this event can be found on this overview page of the Parmigiano Reggiano Night
And many thanks to Parmigiano Reggiano for the invitation to this event.
