What to do with hard cheese rinds like those of parmegiano reggiano? I remember coming across a good use for these as an ingredient for cooking but can't for the life of me recall what it was. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!
As I only recently learned from Urmaniac, the rind can be added to things like a pot of beans to add richness and flavor. I'm sure she'll put her two-cents' worth in shortly to give you a broader understanding of its uses, however!
I save my pieces of parm and when I make minestrone or any veggie soup, I put the pieces in to soften and we eat them along with the soup. They give soup or beans a nice rich flavor..My kids each expect a piece when we have minestrone
Great ideas so far! Now I seem to remember it was Minestrone that one can add the rinds to. So glad I've been collecting those rinds! Thanks people!
:-D
As others have also mentioned, I save my hard Italian cheese rinds & add them to various soups - Escarole & Bean, Minestrone, Vegetarian Vegetable, Chicken Vegetable - you name it.
Just keep in mind that if you're adding a large piece of rind to taste before salting, as the rind does add salt.
Minestrone is the classic, but I also throw them in large batches of risotto, and preety much anything that could benefit from a deeper background taste but not so much grated cheese!
Yes, indeed a rind from Parmigiano is a wonderful flavour booster for brothes (especially for risotto), my initial suggestion to Ayrton was for Pasta e Fagioli. It is indeed a wonderful addition to this classic Italian comfort food. These days I can't believe I used to simply toss that stuff in rubbish!!