Made with aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and a mix of fresh and dried herbs, this salsa di Parmigiano is irresistible, perfect as an appetizer with bread or crackers, delicious tossed with pasta and more. You will want to put it on everything!

This salsa di parmigiano is a nice little sauce to know. Made mostly in the food processor, it comes together in less than ten minutes and makes enough to last you for weeks. Apparently, at Michael Chiarello's Bottega, every table receives a bowl of the sauce along with crispy bread before the main courses arrive. Sounds heavenly. // alexandracooks.com - 1

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with two of my aunts in northern Virginia. Over the course of seven hours, we found a reason to use this sauce — salsa di Parmigiano — three times.

For our lunch, we spread it onto French bread and made paninis filled with artichoke hearts, golden cherry tomatoes, and fontina cheese; for the children’s dinner, we tossed it with pasta; for our meze-style dinner, we spooned it onto grilled bread, which we ate all evening along with some olives, feta, and various other treats.

It was a delicious spread, but this dipping sauce received the most attention by everyone who joined the party.

This is a nice little sauce to know. Made mostly in the food processor, it comes together in less than ten minutes and makes enough to last you for weeks. Apparently, at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, every table receives a bowl of the sauce along with crispy bread before the main courses arrive. Sounds heavenly.

This salsa di parmigiano is a nice little sauce to know. Made mostly in the food processor, it comes together in less than ten minutes and makes enough to last you for weeks. Apparently, at Michael Chiarello's Bottega, every table receives a bowl of the sauce along with crispy bread before the main courses arrive. Sounds heavenly. // alexandracooks.com - 2 Salsa di Parmigiano - 3 cheese in cuisinart - 4 sauce minus the olive oil - 5 Salsa di Parmigiano - 6 Salsa di Parmigiano - 7

Description

Made with aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and a mix of fresh and dried herbs, this salsa di Parmigiano is irresistible, perfect as an appetizer with bread or crackers, delicious tossed with pasta and more. You will want to put it on everything!

  • 1/2 pound Parmesan, not too dry
  • 1/2 pound Asiago cheese, not too dry
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used 2, but start with 1)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  1. Remove any rind from the cheeses and chop the cheeses into rough 1-inch chunks. Pulse the cheeses and garlic in a food processor until reduced to a fine, pea-sized gravel. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and stir in the scallions.
  2. Add the oregano, rubbing it between your fingers over the bowl, red pepper flakes, 1 cup of the olive oil and black pepper. Stir. If mixture seems dry, add more olive oil by the 1/4 cup. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before using.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Italian, American

Description

Made with aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and a mix of fresh and dried herbs, this salsa di Parmigiano is irresistible, perfect as an appetizer with bread or crackers, delicious tossed with pasta and more. You will want to put it on everything!

  • 1/2 pound Parmesan, not too dry
  • 1/2 pound Asiago cheese, not too dry
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used 2, but start with 1)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  1. Remove any rind from the cheeses and chop the cheeses into rough 1-inch chunks. Pulse the cheeses and garlic in a food processor until reduced to a fine, pea-sized gravel. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and stir in the scallions.
  2. Add the oregano, rubbing it between your fingers over the bowl, red pepper flakes, 1 cup of the olive oil and black pepper. Stir. If mixture seems dry, add more olive oil by the 1/4 cup. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours before using.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Cuisine: Italian, American

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2012/12/05/salsa-di-parmigiano-homemade-advent-calendar-for-next-year-perhaps/

A cast iron skillet filled with baked fontina with rosemary and thyme. - 8

I am all for buying two or three wedges of nice cheeses, plopping them on a cutting board, surrounding them with grapes and nuts and maybe something exotic like quince membrillo, and crossing “make-hors d’oeuvres” off my to-do list.

But every so often it’s nice to present something a teensy more special, more awe-inspiring, more spectacularly delicious. This baked fontina is the favorite party trick of my aunt — not the one that introduced me to salsa di parmigiano , the other one. She serves this bubbling fontina-herb-and-garlic-filled cast-iron skillet just as instructed with lots of crusty bread and swears that not a morsel ever remains. Because it is quite decadent, her other offerings consist of crispy kale chips and radishes with sea salt. My aunties are just full of good ideas.

This is definitely another good one to know this time of year — it’s super easy to put together and a guaranteed crowd pleaser. And if you are starting to feel anxious about how you might keep guests out of the kitchen this holiday season, here’s your solution: just plop down this cast-iron skillet in a nice cozy spot as far from your kitchen as possible — you’ll be sure to find some peace. But work quickly, because it won’t last long.

A bite of baked fontina with rosemary and thyme on bread. - 9 ingredients for baked fontina on a board: fontina, rosemary, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt. - 10 minced herbs and sliced garlic on a board - 11 cubed fontina, herbs, olive oil, garlic & salt in a cast iron skillet on a board. - 12 Super easy to put together and a guaranteed crowd pleaser, this baked fontina is definitely a good one to know this time of year. When served to company, not a morsel of this bubbling fontina-herb-and-garlic-filled cast-iron skillet will ever remain. Serve with crispy kale chips and radishes with sea salt. // alexandracooks.com - 13

Description

Note: You can make a half recipe and bake it in mini cast-iron skillets. It works beautifully.

  • 1 1/2 pounds fontina*, rind removed and 1-inch-diced
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 crusty French baguette
  1. Preheat the broiler and position the oven rack 5 inches from the heat. (If you can’t get it exactly 5 inches, don’t worry.)
  2. Distribute the cubes of Fontina evenly in a 12-inch cast-iron pan. Drizzle on the olive oil. Combine the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and sprinkle it over the cheese and olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and place the pan under the broiler for 6 minutes (or longer if your pan is farther from the heat source), until the cheese is melted and bubbling and starts to brown.
  3. Serve the baked Fontina family-style-right out of the oven in the cast-iron pan with crusty chunks of bread for everyone to dip.

Notes

*Suggested brand: Italian Fontina Val d’Aosta

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Broiler
  • Cuisine: American