Parmesan cream sounds like the stuff of dreams — and it is (or can be)! In its essence, Parmesan cream is a bechamel (white) sauce loaded with Parmesan. In fact, it’s the base of my Adult Mac & Cheese. However, I thought what if I “densified” (my made-up verb to make denser) the cream sauce into a paste? In this way it is also useful for a:
- Sandwich spread
- Base for avocado toast
- Dip
- Topping for numerous appetizers
- Base for pasta sauces
- Base for savory tarts (e.g. tomato)
The ingredients are few, but it’s important to use the highest quality. Fake Parmigiano Reggiano? Forget about it! Anything but whole milk? Get outta here! Margerine instead of butter? Are you crazy? Go forth and densify your Parmesan cream, you won’t regret it.
Arliano Update (Aggiornamento Arliano):
In the garden we have beets coming up nicely; a surprise butternut squash (I was convinced we’d have none this year); okra starting to bloom; and loads of zinnias to cheer up the inside of the house. Our zucchini are pretty much done and kaput for the year. I may be a little slow to learn the lesson, but every year I plant rows of zucchini seeds separated by three weeks each, thinking it’s a smart way to stagger the output. The joke is on me because the latter rows never produce much, if anything. The lesson? Planting secondary rows of crops in the summer heat is a bad idea. I’ve learned it’s better to plant everything in the late spring, even if it means dealing with a glut of produce all at once. Going forward I’ll handle the surplus by getting creative with my cooking and preserving methods.
Our 2-bedroom rental house is doing well with bookings — both on a home-exchange app as well as AirBnB. For those interested, contact me and I’ll send links.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
- 2 ounces (57 grams) finely shredded Parmigiano Reggiano
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (do not use iodized able salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Heat milk in a glass or small saucepan in a microwave or stove top until warm and set it aside
- Over medium-low heat, in a small pot melt the butter then add the flour, salt and black pepper and stir until it becomes a paste. Continue to heat the paste for about 1 minute to cook the flour. This is called a roux
- While whisking continuously, slowly add the heated milk to your roux and continue to whisk until the roux has fully incorporated into the milk and no lumps remain. (This is now a basic, extra thick bechamel, or white sauce.) Whisk until the bechamel sauce boils and thickens, and leaves a notable plump trail from your finger on the back of a spoon — about 2 minutes once it starts boiling (see headnote photo)
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated cheese a little at a time, which now has become a glorious Parmesan cream. Transfer the Parmesan cream into a bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the cream to avoid a skin forming. Let the cream cool before placing it in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using it so it continues to thicken. Give it a good stir before using
Greg Nelson Cooks 
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