Note: This is a sponsored post, powered by BrandBacker. I was sent samples of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to make this post. Opinions are mine alone.
Some ingredients are so wonderful, that you don’t need much else to make a beautiful dish. Parmigiano Reggiano is most certainly one of those ingredients.
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is made in the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna, and Mantua, Italy. Made by a collective of farmers and producers, Parmigiano Reggiano has just three ingredients: milk, salt, and rennet. with over eight centuries of cheese making experience, every wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is carefully tended to by workers who wipe, brush, and turn them every ten days. The outsides of the wheels dry over time to form a natural and edible rind. The wheels are typically aged for 18 to 36 months, with 24 months being the most common. So how do you know you have real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese? Look for the pin-dots on the rind, which are imprinted on every wheel.
This process results in a hard, dry cheese with a pale gold rind and a straw colored interior with a wonderful rich and sharp flavor. Pre-grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese doesn’t do the freshly grated stuff justice. And the best way to highlight the flavor of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano is in this super simple recipe for Cacio e Pepe, or translated to Cheese and Pepper.
Traditional Cacio e Pepe is made with just 4 ingredients, but my Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Pepper Pasta) has 7 ingredients – pasta, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, pepper, salt, garlic, butter, and olive oil. The result is a simple but decadent pasta dish with the most luxurious, silky cheese sauce.
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 oz) box linguine
- salt, for the pasta water
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 large garlic clove, very thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for serving