Parmigiano Reggiano

The taste of Parmesan is one of the great savoury flavours of Western cuisine  It has a deep umami richness with a side order of bite and has tickled British palates since the ‘Spag Bol’ revolution of the 1960s. Recently I was invited to a Parmigiano Reggiano tasting  at Theo Randall’s eponymous restaurant in The Intercontinental Hotel just by Hyde Park. Parmigiano Reggiano is DOC controlled which means that its method of production is strictly monitored and restricted to the provinces of Emilia-Romagna and a small area of Lombardy near Mantua. It is made from a mix of whole and skimmed milk (16 litres milk to make 1 kilo of Parmesan) and during its production is immersed in a  bath of Mediterranian sea-salt which gives the cheese its characteristic salinity.

The evening kicked off with a tasting of 3 differently aged Parmesans, 18, 22 and 30 months.

Italians eat chunks of the cheese as an pre-dinner snack with an aperitivo so it would have been churlish not to go down that particular autostrada.  All three cheeses were delicious with the youngest being best matched with a glass of prosecco and the more intensely flavoured 30 month cheese suiting a deeply flavoured red. They were all  moister and less granular than much of the cheese that makes it to the table here with a salty nuttiness about the flavour which grew in intensity through the differing ages of the cheese.

The tasting was followed by a Theo Randall masterclass in cooking pasta and risotto.

His first dish was a Parmesan Fonduta.

He had made up some tagliatelle the previous day  using eggs flown in from Genoa (20 egg yolks per kilo of 00 flour). The hens are fed on a mix of carrots and corn giving their yolks  an intense sunset yellow hue that is also present in the pasta. Using a mandolin he sliced some zucchini into long strips similar to the tagliatelle and mixed the two together to lighten the dish. Whilst they were cooking, Theo mixed together some creme fraiche with some minced garlic and an egg yolk with the bowl being placed on top of the boiling pasta pan, finally adding a heap of grated Parmesan.

When the pasta/zucchini  was cooked but still firm to the bite (al dente) he lifted it straight from the pan into the bowl containing the sauce. He explained that the steam that rises when pasta is turned into a colander makes it overcook and so the direct method which also adds some of the cooking water to the sauce, is the authentic and best way to get a great result.

He then shook the dish vigorously to blend the ingredients and to release the starch in the pasta for additional creaminess. The result was delicious. The tagliatelle had an eggy richness about it that would have made it totally satisfying just with some butter or olive oil.  Mixed with the Parmesan sauce it created a dish that was rich but not overly heavy and with a depth of flavour that was intense and pleasurable.

Theo then cooked a Risotto di Peperoni.

Using the Ferron brand of Carnaroli rice (Carnaroli is the most forgiving rice for risotto), Theo cooked off some white onions and sealed the rice (a handful is a portion) in olive oil adding some white wine.  Theo started adding stock to release the starch in the rice and got on with stirring. When the rice was nearly cooked he added some roast peppers.

The starch in the peppers makes the risotto creamier.

 Finally Theo added fresh basil, black pepper, butter and parmesan, then leaving the risotto to sit for 30 seconds to blend and settle. The risotto was wetter than I expected with the rice having a lot of bite. The sweetness of the peppers was offset by the savoury flavour of the parmesan and the basil to create a lovely dish.

We then sat down for a fantastic meal washed down with a bottle of Vadiaperti Greco di Tufo (see our Roganic review for the wine-http://www.the-hedonist.com/reviews-roganic/).

Parmigiano and tomato crostini were delicious little bites.

The cappelletti (little hats) were sensational, stuffed with squash, parmigiano reggiano and sage butter. I haven’t tasted better pasta anywhere and the filling was subtle enough to let the pasta flavour through.

The Filetto di manzo was a chargrilled Longhorn beef fillet served medium rare with Roseval potatoes, parmigiano reggiano, roast Florentine fennel with a salsa verde. Dessert was an Amalfi lemon tart.

Theo is rigorous in the sourcing of his ingredients, flying over much of his supplies directly from producers and markets in Italy. Central to the food he makes is parmigiano reggiano and if you want authentic Italian flavours to come through in your cooking, is it really a luxury or just a pleasurable necessity when so little can pack such a gastronomic punch?