sprinklefingers

in an earlier post, i reprimanded you for not saving your vanilla beans.

i hate to say it, but i’m back to do the same - and this time it’s about parmesan rinds. more specifically, the rind of a wedge of parmigiano-reggiano. no, this cheese isn’t cheap. and after you’ve used all of its salty, nutty goodness on food, why not stretch it a bit further and also put the rind to good use?

how?
good question!

after you’ve grated all of the cheese away, stick the rind in a refrigerator container and place it in the fridge. or freezer! [note: don’t forget it’s there!]

the next time you’re making anything brothy - a soup, a stock, a braise - grab that rind out of the fridge/freezer and plop it into your cooking liquid.

the rind imparts a difficult-to-describe sweet, nutty flavor…something that will elevate even a simple soup to new heights.

after your soup/stock/braise has finished cooking, simply fish the rind out - it will be a soggy (somewhat icky) mass - but it will have done its job deliciously.

don’t believe me? well, you should because many specialty grocers are now selling parmigiano-reggiano rinds by the pound. nose-to-tail eatingwithout the actual nose & tail!

and now, because you are so sweet, a recipe using parm rinds:
minestrone soup from sunset magazine (a soup we have literally eaten about one hundred times since the recipe was published. crazy, crazy, crazy good. especially if you use homemade broth.)