A little while ago my roommate and I bought all the ingredients called for in a recipe for pasta with pesto and cheese. It wasn’t until we made the dish and had eaten it that we realized we’d bought a package of romano cheese rather than the requisite parmesan (and we were wondering why it turned out so clumpy!). We have no recipes that call for shredded romano, and we’d like to use it up before we move to a new apartment next week.
Any ideas? It seems too sticky to use in anything Italian - is it good on salads, or as a garnish for soups? I’d rather we didn’t waste it.
My husband just put some on toast today and broiled it. Very yummy. And yes, it’s very good on salad. I’m curious, though, 'cause our romano is as hard as parmesan and isn’t at all sticky.
Like Chefguy sez, you can use it like Parmesan, though it sounds like it’s a little moister than the dry grated parmesan you’re probably used to. But it would still be good sprinkled on pasta (red sauce, or olive oil based), or minestrone soup (which is a tomato and garlic and bean-based thing which is good with a little parmesan/romano type cheese. Not advising it for chicken soup). Add some to pizza or use it for lasagna.
Simply toss hot pasta with Romano, butter and olive oil. Crack some fresh pepper on it and go. You can also add sour cream or mayo to make it extra creamy and then add whatever you like to this basic dish. I like chopped ham and olives, myself. This is a great solution for having pasta with no sauce…
And if you want sauce, you can just open a can of tomatoes, drain the juice into a sauce pan and simmer with some spices (garlic, oregano, basil, thyme) while you broil the tomatoes in the oven until they are toasty (basically fire roasted tomatoes) and blend together. Makes a very nice sauce.
