Sunday, June 14, 2015

Parmesan Cream




I found very similar recipes for this cream in both Italian and French cuisine books. They seemed rather simple to make, especially if you are familiar with the bain marie method, and looked very delicious. Both recipes called for almost the same ingredients although the Italian was richer because of the heavy whipping cream, and the French was richer in eggs but lighter on cream. Just by reading of all the nice ingredients of this recipe I imagined that it could taste really nice so recently, when I bought a big chunk of genuine Italian Parmesan, I thought it was good time to experiment with it.

I made my own version, which is a combination of both recipes and lighter than any of them. I cut on eggs and I also replaced the heavy whipping cream with a lighter cream. The dish came out very nice, delicate and almost fluffy. It was had a very appealing presentation as I made it in small ramekins, so it could be used as an elegant and tasty dinner starter.



Parmesan Cream

Ingredients:
1 nd 1/2 cup table cream,
2 tsp corn starch flour,
2 large organic eggs,
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese,
a pinch of grated nutmeg,
salt and pepper,
balsamic vinegar glaze for finish.

Preparation:
1. Put the cream in a medium pot. Mix the corn starch in a small bowl with two tbsps of water until smooth and add to the cream. Mix well and heat the mixture on a medium heat until it boils. Season with salt pepper and nutmeg.
2. Mix together eggs with Parmesan. Add a little bit of cream custard to the eggs and cheese and mix well. Pour the mixture to the pot with cream and stir until smooth.
3. Preheat oven to 300 F. Butter 6 small ramekins with butter and divide the cheese custard.
4. Place the ramekins in a baking form with higher walls and fill up with hot water up to the half of their height.



5. Bake 30 minutes until set.
6. Cool slightly and remove from ramekins on plates after loosening them first around with a knife.
7. Serve drizzled with balsamic vinegar glaze, baguettes and salad.