The King of Cheese – Parmigiano Reggiano – Fun Cooking Event

Cheese is one of my ‘can’t live without’ foods and the king of these is Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano),   I was recently invited to discover some new recipes using Parmigiano Reggiano 24 months aged Parmesan which was being held at Food at 52 a cooking school I have attended many times and I really look forward to going to.  If you are interested in finding a great cooking school in London check them out – you won’t look back!

Anyway, back to the cheese!  A few Parmesan facts for you ……

1. The minimum age of the cheese is 12 months but the average is aged for 24 months.
2. It takes 14 litres of milk to make 1 kilo of the cheese.
3. 40 kilos is the weight of a wheel of Parmesan.
4. It takes 550 litres of milk to make a whole wheel of Parmesan.

All of the food we ate had Parmesan cheese as an ingredient.  To start as we assembled ourselves we were offered a glass of Prosecco and some tantalizing nibbles. These were made for our arrival to be enjoyed with a glass of Prosecco while we waited for everyone to arrive.  Parmigiano Reggiano & Wild Mushroom Risotto Balls, Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Straws Wrapped in Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano and Rosemary Shortbread – all delicious!

Then we had to work for our supper! We made Walnut and Parmigiano Reggiano Pesto – by making it in the mortar and pestle you can control the texture as well as the seasoning more easily.

The pesto was made to go with the home made Parmigiano Reggiano and Sage Gnocchi we made as well. It was really easy to make fresh gnocchi and very quick to cook.

They tasted lovely and fresh and we simple put the pesto we had made drizzled over the top and topped with some freshly shaved Parmesan and some rocket leaves.

For our pudding we made an Apple and Almond Cake with Parmigiano Reggiano, Pine Nut Streusel and served with Vanilla Cream. Fortunately there was loads left over so we could take some home for morning coffee the following day!