It seems a little crazy that nearly a year and a half into "Cheese of the Week" I have not yet covered the superb King of Cheeses, Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy.
Frankly, the subject is a little daunting. Where do you start with a cheese both as common and as elevated as Parmigiano? It invites a book with chapters on its history since 1200 CE; its manufacture and aging; the terroir of Emilia Romagna, land of "the splendid table," where it is made; its proper traditional usage, which itself entails a discussion of Italian regional food and sometimes odd (to us) gustatory conventions; comparisons with other Italian hard grating cheeses; comparisons with non-Italian "Parmesan"; and on and on. Look, I've already spent a paragraph just getting ready to talk about it.
Still, on the day we're discussing the glories of spring vegetables, one simply must include pasta primavera, and pasta primavera must include Parmigiano-Reggiano.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Evansville Courier & Press