When I go shopping at my favorite supermarket, I walk past the packaged cheese section straight to the fresh cheese counter. I don’t have to be concerned about the kashrut, and I find it fun to try new cheeses, which I can buy by the slice or hunk. In particular, I enjoy having my Parmesan cheese grated before my eyes fresh because of the popularity and large turnover.
According to the internet, the first wheel of kosher Parmigiano-Reggiano was shown at the world’s fair in Milan, Italy in 2015. Here are some special recipes to add to your dairy meals for family or company.
Chantilly Potatoes
With a Parmesan Crust
6 servings
This recipe is by the late Maria Guarnaschelli, who introduced American cooks to European cuisines and edited and wrote cookbooks for 50 years.
- 2 pounds cut and peeled potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup cold milk
- 7 T. unsalted butter
- Pepper to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a rectangular baking dish.
2. Put potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water, add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes.
3. Drain and shake over high heat for 1 minute to dry. Pass through a ricer to a bowl. Beat in milk and 6 T. butter. Season with salt and pepper.
4. In a bowl, whip cream to soft peaks. Beat into potatoes ⅓ at a time. Scrape into a baking dish. Dot with 1 T. butter and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Preheat the broiler and broil 2 minutes until brown.
Let it stand for 10 minutes and serve.
Parmesan Potato Souffle
8 servings
This recipe came from a restaurant in Santa Barbara, California and Bon Appetit magazine.
- 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise 1/16-inch slices
- 1 ¾ cups whipping cream
- ¾ cup milk
- 6 eggs
- 2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ t. garlic powder
- ¼ t. nutmeg
- ¼ t. onion salt
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a baking dish.
2. Place slices of potatoes in a bowl, cover with cold water, soak for 5 minutes, drain, rinse and dry.
3. Beat whipping cream, milk, eggs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg and onion salt with electric mixture until smooth. Pour 1 cup into a baking dish.
4. Top with 3-4 layers of potatoes in a crisscross pattern. Cover with 1 cup cream mixture and continue layering. Press down potatoes to submerge. Cover with foil.
5. Bake for 2 hours. Remove foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until brown. Cool 15 minutes.
Cut into squares and serve.
Parmesan French Fries
4 servings
This recipe has no source but it is about 40 or more years old.
- 4 potatoes cut into sticks
- Ice water
- ¼ cup margarine
- Onion or garlic salt to taste
- Paprika to taste
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Melt margarine and add to a baking dish.
2. Place potatoes in a bowl. Cover with ice water and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain and dry.
3. Add to the baking dish and coat well. Sprinkle with onion or garlic salt and paprika. Bake for 25 minutes or until tender and brown.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Sybil Kaplan is a Jerusalem-based journalist, author and compiler/editor of nine kosher cookbooks. She is a food writer for North American Jewish publications, and she leads walks of the Jewish food market, Machaneh Yehudah, in English.
