We were given a HUGE chunk of a Pecorino Romano wheel – easily five pounds of it. I know, given that even cheap Romano goes for $12/pound, this is a magnificent gift. But…
Well, the thing is, up to now I’ve only use a small amount of Romano cheese, usually mixed into parmesan when making lasagna.
I need recipes, please! And hopefully ones that call for a cup or more of grated Romano, not a sprinkling.
Also, can I freeze this cheese? I’m thinking of cutting it up into more reasonable sized chunks (like 6-8 oz), wrapping it in plastic wrap and then in aluminun foil. Does that sound like a good plan?
Pecorino is what Parmesan would like to be, if Parmesan didn’t smell like puke whenever you put it on something hot.
Pecorino is also the vehicle of choice for the much-vaunted Sardinian Maggot Cheese. It’s easy to make! Just put a chunk out and forget about it for several months.
I’ve found that Pecorino goes crumbly after a while in the freezer - it’s fine if you grate it first, but with that amount of cheese, it might be difficult. Use it instead of Parmesan - it’s nicer anyway (my Italian mother in law never uses Parmesan, only Pecorino).
It goes nicely on pizzas and pasta as you’d expect, but you can use it in anything which contains cheese - quiches, cheese sauces. It’s nice on top of grilled tomatoes with a few breadcrumbs. I personally make my own pesto sauce with Pecorino and freeze it - it’s a quick meal with pasta, crusty bread and a glass of wine…mmmm - time for dinner…
If the goal is to use as much Pecorino Romano as possible, diluted by other ingredients as little as possible, make Crisp Cheese Crisps . Basically, put some grated cheese in a pile on a cookie sheet, bake for a few minutes, let cool and eat.
If you were having a dinner party, and serving some sort of pasta, and a salad, serving cheese crisps like this would be a nice touch, in my opinion.
Make pesto. Using all Pecorino isn’t quite classic, but it will still taste good. As well as the basil version, experiment with parsley or coriander varieties.
I have a ton of uses for a good, full-flavored, hard cheese. Use it as a base with a very sharp cheddar for homemade mac 'n cheese or for the full, upscale “white trash cookin’” add a can of drained tuna and half a bag of frozen/thawed peas. This is one of my very favorite, don’t feel like cooking, “what do we have in the kitchen right now that I can make without having to think much about it?” meals. Plus, YUM.
You can add a good cup to a potato-based or béchamel soup like a chicken corn chowder or potato leek. You can use it in place of the far inferior parmesan for an excellent alfredo-type white sauce, although I generally prefer asiago for this. Use it with a very sharp cheddar 50/50 or 80/30 cheddar/romano and sliced dill pickles on sourdough for the ultimate grilled cheese sammich. Don’t forget to add some garlic powder to the butter on the outside! If you sprinkle a little pile on the skillet while you’re waiting for the grilled cheese, you’ll end up with a crispy circle of numminess ala Eureka that you can then place on top of the fresh tomato soup* you will, of course, want to make to accompany the Ultimate Grilled Cheese[sup]TM[/sup].
In short… cheese on, my friend. Cheese on.
*Couple cans of tomatoes, blended, with chicken broth added to preferred consistency, a bit of white sugar to taste, and a tiny pinch of ground cloves. Heat. Dip grilled cheese. Requires a cold, kosher dill pickle on the side. Mmmm…
Oh, also, as Frylock said, eating it for its own sake is great, too. To his lunch I’d add a ripe, sliced tomato with a sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper or a sliced fuji apple… crisp and sweet :).
