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Parmigiano Reggiano rind in soup

I remember seeing "save the rind for minestrone soup"
Well it's soup time again, and I want to know when do I add it?

14 Comments:

I always add it at the beginning of the simmering. One of the most valuable things I ever learned about cooking. I never enjoyed minestrone soup before I used Marcella Hazan's recipe, where she suggested this.

@islandexike. Thanks for the advise, I have never heard of this , but it's a gem, thanks.

ATK says to put the rind in whole at the beginning of simmering, then dice it up small (it will be very soft) and serve it with the soup. I did this not three weeks ago and it was really nice. The flavor added to the soup is subtle, more like a richness than a cheesyness.

The rind trick is good in many soups - even cream of broccoli.
Any rind type cheese is good, too.

I actually did this with a chicken/vegetable soup yesterday. It came out very, very well. Tonight I'll serve tortellini in the soup so as to play up the slight cheese overtones.

Remember to scrape off the very outer layer (like you would do on burnt toast) it is the part that sits out on the shelf during aging
.

I love the rind in minestrones and other Italian soups (if you've never had it in a Pasta Fagioli, you haven't lived! -- I also love it in my grandmother's recipe for Lentil Soup...) But, have any of you ever tried it in a long-simmering pasta "gravy"? I don't make that much anymore, but when I do, I always toss a piece of rind into it. It's yummy!

Great advice, Yum . Thank you.

@Brownie Could I have your long simmering pasta gravy recipe please?

agree brownie's comment. we always just chuck the rind in while pasta sauce is simmering away if we've reached the end of the wedge. i figure, it can't hurt!

@pjracz10 -- I don't have a "recipe" per se, but here's how my grandmother taught me to make it:

Sunday "Gravy" with Meatballs

Olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lg. onion, chopped (this was my addition... Grandma didn't use onions)
2 small cans (6-ounce each) of Tomato Paste
2 28-ounce can of Crushed Tomatoes
about 1 - 2 T. Dried Oregano (don't go crazy measuring... just add to your own taste.
5 or 6 Fresh Basil Leaves (or about 1- 2 T. Dried Basil)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tomato can of cold water
1 tomato can of a good burgundy or chianti
1 or 2 cheese rinds

First, make your meatballs (any favorite recipe will do). I no longer eat meat, so I skip this, but meatballs, sausages, pork ribs -- any of your favorite meats will go well with this sauce. Brown the meatballs and any meat you are using (in batches) in a big pot. Remove to a big bowl, and put some good quality olive oil in the pan. Add the onion, and cook until softened. Add the garlic, and cook until you can smell it, being careful not to let it brown (it will be bitter if it browns.) Now, add the tomato paste, and stir until the onions, garlic and paste is slightly browned. Now, add the wine, and deglaze all the browned bits and goodness off the bottom of the pot. Add the water, the herbs, and the tomatoes, and bring up to a lively simmer. Drop in all your meat and/or meatballs, ang your cheese rind, cover, and let simmer on very low heat (stirring every so often to keep it from burning) for 2-4 hours.

To serve, remove all the meat and meatballs to a large platter. Serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti, cooked al dente. This will serve a crowd -- 10 -12 easily, and is just as good when cooked in a half batch.

Let me know how you like it if you make it!

Whoops! -- Make that 1-1/2 tomato cans water, and 1/2 tomato can of wine. Sorry... please adjust the recipe above!

Thanks so much when I make it for the sorority girls I will use a 1/2 can H20 and a whole can wine lol. Can't wait to make to next week and I will let you know. Thank you so much. Now not to change the subject but in Pac. N.W. we do not have canolli's (sp), at least not like in N.Y that my N.Y. friends complain so much about, do you have a recipe for these that my friends from back east would rave about?

@pjracz10 -- Buy your cannoli shells already made. This is the cannoli filling I've used for years. My Auntie Lula gave it to me. I've made some changes, but put thos in ( )'s :

Auntie Lula's Cannoli Filling

3/4 cup cornstarch
4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp almond extract (or Amaretto Liqueur)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, or chopped dark chocolate
3 pounds ricotta cheese (or 2 lbs. ricotta and 1 lb. mascarpone)
1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped (I use pistachios when I can get them unsalted)
1/2 tsp orange zest

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, slowly whisk 1 cup of the milk into the cornstarch until it is very smooth. Allow mixture to sit for about 20 minutes. Add the remaining milk and sugar to the milk/cornstarch, and stir over a low heat until it is thickened and creamy. Remove from heat. Stir in the extracts. Pour into a glass or metal bowl, and put a piece of plastic wrap directly ontop of the surface of the filling so no tough skin forms. Allow filling to cool to room temperature.

When cooled, add the ricotta cheese (and mascarpone, if using -- make sure it is at room temperature, so it is soft and creamy), cinnamon, chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, almonds or pistachios, and orange zest to the the cornstarch and pipe the filling into cannoli shells.

This makes a TON of filling. I don't know how it would be to halve or quarter it, because I never have.

Dust the finished cannolis in powdered sugar or dip the ends in chopped nuts or more chopped chocolate or mini chips -- or drizzle with melted chocolate.

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