Why parmesan rinds are a cook’s secret ingredient
What can I do with leftover parmesan rinds? People always say not to discard them.
Leah, London SW1
Parmesan rinds are real imparters of flavour, so you’re right to think twice about tossing them, Leah. “When I was young, my parents used to give me them to chew on when I was losing my baby teeth,” recalls Filippo La Gattuta, executive chef at Big Mamma Group in London. Of course, he has since found other solutions to the leftover rind predicament. “My favourite way now is to scrape the rind with a knife [just to remove the waxy coating], cut it up into small pieces, then pop in a microwave for a minute or so, until they puff up.” Once cooled, you’ll have the perfect, crunchy snack to accompany aperitivo hour.
If you don’t have a microwave, however, make cheesy “chips” in the oven. Chef Theo Randall, author of The Italian Pantry, says, “Soak the rinds in about a litre of boiling water [from the kettle], then, once they’re soft, cut them quite thinly and bake.” The key is to get the rinds nice and soft – “you get a much nicer flavour that way” – so if soaking them doesn’t do the trick, transfer the lot to a pan and heat on the stove. Snack success also hinges on those rinds having been stored correctly: “Keep them somewhere dry,” says Randall, who pops his in a paper bag and keeps them in a plastic container in a cupboard. The Guardian’s Italian food correspondent, Rachel Roddy, meanwhile, keeps hers in the fridge but, she adds, “you could put them in an airtight container in the freezer”.
If you have five or six rinds to play with, Randall recommends making stock: “Parmesan is made with cow’s milk and salt, so it’s got a really rich flavour.” Cook a sofrito of onion, celery and carrot in oil, then add some rinds and boiling water. “Cook slowly for about two hours, and you’ll get the most incredibly intense stock that works really well in a risotto.” You won’t necessarily need to stir any parmesan into your risotto later, either, because the stock has “a hugely concentrated flavour, much as dried porcini do, and it kind of thickens everything up”.
Alternatively, use that same stock as a base for some soup, or you could simply just chuck in a whole rind when adding liquid to any soup. Roddy says: “I don’t often use stock cubes. I just use water and a parmesan rind – it’s like a little flavour bomb.” And, if minestrone is on the cards, La Gattuta suggests chopping the rind into small pieces and melting it in the soup to add a welcome “chewy texture”.
Spent rinds also add a hit of umami to sauces (tomato or cheese, for example), stews and, crucially, Roddy says, all sorts of bean or potato pasta dishes. Randall, meanwhile, has even been known to chargrill the rinds: “Char the outside of the rind, then scoop out the cheese with a teaspoon; it will have melted and taken on a nice, smoky taste.” Come to think of it, that could be just the thing to keep in your back pocket come Bonfire Night.
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