Sometimes, I find myself getting overly-excited about a particular ingredient that I’ve been using in my cooking. It might be something simple, but surprisingly versatile, or that adds a depth of flavour I hadn’t expected. So, I decided to start a series, Imaginary Pantry, where I can geek out about my favourite ingredients. Imaginary, because I don’t actually have a pantry, just a cupboard in my student kitchen. But if I did have a pantry, these are some of the things you might find inside it. From lemons, to multiple types of lentils, to large bottles of fermenting kimchi, welcome to my Imaginary Pantry.
Imaginary Pantry #1
When I came up with the idea for Imaginary Pantry, I wasn’t sure which ingredient to pick for the first instalment of this series. I eventually settled on parmesan, a cheese that most people can probably agree on. Until the last few years, I didn’t eat a lot of parmesan. Instead, I was a fiend for cheddar, piling it on top of pasta, in sandwiches, on crackers with chutney, or just a chunk by itself whilst I cooked. Cheddar held me hostage in a tight grip and I had Stockholm syndrome. Luckily, more recently I’ve taken a break from cheddar and I no longer crave it. And so began the fascination with parmesan.
These days, parmesan goes into a lot of my cooking. As I’ve started to appreciate the flavour that it adds to a dish, I’ve been putting it into a more diverse range of foods. No longer just pasta, but also eggs, and fried and roasted foods. I found out only last year that the flavour of parmesan is actually umami, the hard-to-describe ‘fifth taste’ alongside salt, sweet, bitter and sour. Umami is caused by the presence of glutamate, an amino-acid, in your food. It is usually associated with foods like soy sauce and miso, which have a very umami flavour. However, according to the Guardian, parmesan is one of the most umami-rich ingredients in Western cooking.
Parmesan, or officially, Parmigiano Reggiano, can be traced back to Italian monasteries of the 13th century. It was created by monks living between the regions of Parma and Reggio Emilia, who needed to produce a cheese that would last long periods of time without spoiling. The cheese grew in popularity during the Renaissance period and was traded across Italy, and eventually all round Europe – Germany, Flanders, France and Spain. The cheese has even had legal protections for over 400 years. As demand for parmesan grew, imitation cheeses produced in other regions began to pop up, being sold under the same name. So, in 1612 the Duke of Parma issued a decree to establish specific places that would be allowed to produce ‘Parmigiano’ cheese. This was the earliest example of a legally protected designation of origin, a precursor to the modern day Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), which is recognised by the European Union. This is the acronym you see in shops and restaurants, for example when ordering pizza with ‘San Marzano tomatoes DOP’, or ‘mozzarella di bufala DOP’. These days in Europe only parmesan produced in the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia, or the cities of Modena and Mantua, can be legally marketed and sold as parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano. There is even a governing body responsible for protecting the standards of Parmesan, the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano (or, the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Consortium), which was established in 1999.
Naturally, parmesan is still a very popular cheese in Europe and the English-speaking world. It’s an ingredient for which I regularly find new uses and that seems to go well with a huge variety of different foods.
Of course, the obvious use for parmesan is simple: pasta. Shallots, garlic and tomatoes, fried and then cooked down until thick and jammy, before being loosened with some pasta water. Parmesan added for creaminess – and, umami. Then, tossed with linguine and topped with black pepper and more parmesan. This is a dish that I turn to when I’m feeling sad, tired or pressed for time. It’s easy to make, comforting and carby.
I also love adding parmesan to fried eggs. I usually fry eggs in spitting hot oil, until they’re brown and crispy at the edges, with a gooey yolk. Whilst in the pan, I top them with smoked paprika and sumac. Once on the plate, I shave on some parmesan, plus chopped chives or spring onions if I have any around. The various flavour origins probably sound like a strange combination: paprika is central to Hungarian cuisine, sumac is typically used in Arab or Asian food, whilst spring onions are often associated with East Asian cuisine, and... parmesan. Nevertheless, the combination works. Served on toast for lunch or alongside a fry-up, this is one of my favourite uses for parmesan.
Whilst parmesan goes well with most fried foods, I think it also has an affinity with roasted foods. Consider this: crispy roast potatoes would surely be even better with a sprinkling of parmesan on top (apparently a similar concept has recently been doing the rounds on TikTok). Crunchy char-grilled broccoli, perhaps dressed in vinegar and olive oil, and blanketed in shavings of the hard cheese. Or, maybe, a warming winter soup, made with roasted pumpkin and flavoured with cumin and coriander powder, finished with parmesan on top, or even chunks melted in.
Lastly, I have to give a shout-out to these potato and parmesan churros from Belgian burger chain Ellis, which I tried whilst on holiday. A savoury take on Spanish churros, these were made with a batter of potato puree and parmesan. Once deep fried, they were served with more parmesan and a rosemary-mayo dip. They were crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. In rainy Belgium in January, these tasted like street food that you might snack on whilst strolling around a sun-soaked Mediterranean city in the middle of summer.
Parmesan gives a rich, nutty flavour to anything it touches, making it a great flavour enhancer, and personally, I can’t get enough.