Parmesan Crisps

Part of Sally Schneider's Easy Menus for Holiday Entertaining
December 15, 2001

Adapted from A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider (Artisan, 2001). Copyright 2001, Sally Schneider.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 min

Yield: Eight 9-inch crisps

These paper-thin wafers, based on the frico of Friuli, Italy, are spectacular appetizers. Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, stabilized with a minute amount of flour, is sprinkled into a hot nonstick pan to form a thin pancake of melted cheese that hardens into a lacy wafer with the clear, delicious flavor of the cheese. There is no added fat, and the cheese goes a long way: A single ounce yields a dramatic 9-inch disk that is wonderful with Champagne, wine, or cocktails. Broken up, it can also garnish salads, soups, and vegetable stews.

As with pancakes or crêpes, it is best to experiment with the first one or two crisps, until you get a feel for the correct heat of the pan. Once you get the hang of it, you can make a whole batch in ten minutes. Use only real Parmigiano-Reggiano or another hard aged grating cheese, such as Montasio. Under no circumstances use domestic Parmesan.

Ingredients

Parmesan Crisps

• 8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged Montasio cheese, grated (about 3 cups)

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or
  

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or dried rosemary, or to taste

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients. Heat a heavy 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Reduce the heat slightly. Using a soup spoon, a measuring cup, or a coffee cup, sprinkle 1 ounce (about 1/3 cup) of the cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the skillet to make a thin lacy pancake: You should not be able to see the bottom of the skillet. You may have to adjust the heat; the cheese should sizzle when it hits the pan, but it should not smoke. Cook the crisp until the fine grains of cheese have melted together and the edges are just beginning to brown. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 30 seconds to 1 minute to set. If the crisp hardens too much, return the pan to the burner for a few seconds to warm it.

• With a plastic spatula, gently lift the crisp up by one edge and slide it onto a wire rack to cool until hardened, about 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining cheese mixture. When the crisps are completely cool, they can be carefully stacked and stored in a tin or box.

• Serve the crisps whole or broken into large irregular quarters and arranged standing in a basket.