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Original poster

Does the parmesan bowl really add all that much to Cacio e Pepe?

56 replies

Soffit · 23/04/2022 14:51

Or can you achieve similar results by adding a small piece into the cheese? Personally, I find there is no discernable difference.

OP posts:
Sgtmajormummy · 23/04/2022 17:41

I’ve found what you’re talking about. video
I’d eat it, especially with some truffle shavings!

bellac11 · 23/04/2022 17:45

If you serve it in a parmesan rind, where do you get it from and what would you do with it afterwards, you cant put it in the dishwasher for next time. And if you're serving the dish for 4 people, you need 4 hollowed out parmesans?

Impractical

bellac11 · 23/04/2022 17:47

Soffit · 23/04/2022 17:19

It is for a special meal. I could not serve regular cheese and pepper pasta by itself as it would look underwhelming. I will probably still do it embellished with truffle and serve an interesting salad on the side.

Pasta and cheese can never be underwhelming. Its just not possible

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General food
LaMarschallin · 23/04/2022 17:49

So is it's a parmesan crisp shaped into a bowl?
That makes much more sense and would be quite nice, I imagine. Maybe a bit rich if you eat all the crisp as it would be quite big.

queenmeadhbh · 23/04/2022 18:09

Sgtmajormummy · 23/04/2022 17:41

I’ve found what you’re talking about. video
I’d eat it, especially with some truffle shavings!

I think OP means something like

Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 18:18

queenmeadhbh · 23/04/2022 18:09

I think OP means something like

Show quote history

Yes, that's the one. I will probably do it without the 'bowl'. I would not go all the way to Miami to have it served properly! Unless advised otherwise, I am assuming that it is not available properly prepared in the UK.

OP posts:
queenmeadhbh · 23/04/2022 18:26

Soffit · 23/04/2022 18:18

Yes, that's the one. I will probably do it without the 'bowl'. I would not go all the way to Miami to have it served properly! Unless advised otherwise, I am assuming that it is not available properly prepared in the UK.

Show quote history

There is nothing “proper” about serving it in a cheese like that - as PP have said it is a nonsense extra. Im sure whatever you cook for your special dinner will be lovely but please don’t think that that cacio e pepe served in a normal bowl is somehow lesser because that is the “properly
prepared” way and not the wasteful show offy cheese wheel way. This is why everyone is a bit confused about what you meant by “Parmesan bowl” because it is unnecessary and unusual.

good recipe here

Good luck for your dinner!

LaMarschallin · 23/04/2022 18:27

Is that properly prepared then?
I'd have thought it would be very difficult to find several hollowed-out whole parmesans each time you wanted to serve it.
I assumed it was just an extra flourish, like serving a pudding in an ice- or chocolate-bowl.

LaMarschallin · 23/04/2022 18:29

queenmeadhbh

Crossed posts 🙂
You certainly sound like you know what you're talking about.

Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 18:33

Thanks for the recipe. I am certainly not going to hunt for the parmesan wheels. They would possibly cost more than the black truffle element. I am sure it is just a theatrical thing. I have generally been unlucky with sourcing amazing Italian food even in Italy itself (combination of not willing to try anything and also trying to cater for children). I believe that the only pasta dish I was ever wowed by was actually in Ticino.

OP posts:
Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 18:34

"everything" niot "anything"!

OP posts:
TheSpottedZebra · 23/04/2022 19:18

But why are you trying to posh it up? It's a humble (but delicious) dish - cheesy pasta - in the tradition of cucina povera, or peasant food. It doesn't need, and isn't 'correct' to be served in parmesan bowl or with truffles.

Are you trying to impress your guests with swanky styling? Or MN?

Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 19:26

TheSpottedZebra · 23/04/2022 19:18

But why are you trying to posh it up? It's a humble (but delicious) dish - cheesy pasta - in the tradition of cucina povera, or peasant food. It doesn't need, and isn't 'correct' to be served in parmesan bowl or with truffles.

Are you trying to impress your guests with swanky styling? Or MN?

Nope , I don't need to "impress" anyone. It has already been served in those ways as evidenced by the links above!

OP posts:
bellac11 · 23/04/2022 19:29

TheSpottedZebra · 23/04/2022 19:18

But why are you trying to posh it up? It's a humble (but delicious) dish - cheesy pasta - in the tradition of cucina povera, or peasant food. It doesn't need, and isn't 'correct' to be served in parmesan bowl or with truffles.

Are you trying to impress your guests with swanky styling? Or MN?

There is no such thing as 'correct' when talking about food. Food dishes evolve and change according to families, society, new tastes, new fashions and availability

All sorts of traditionally 'poor' dishes are added to or changed (poshed up in your words), such as lentils, porridge, roast dinners, bread and butter pudding, fish and chips, these all have versions of themselves which are far removed from the origins of them but experiments to incorporate different flavours are a positive thing

TheSpottedZebra · 23/04/2022 19:31

Well it's probably also been served somewhere in a shoe but that also doesn't make it correct nor authentic.

Sylfia · 23/04/2022 19:32

There is a tiny bit of sense to the Parmesan rind - you need to keep your pasta warm and cosy. No cold plates. I love the Guardian Kitchen in Rome series for cooking simple dishes the Italian way - cacio e pepe here: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/13/cacio-e-pepe-recipe-three-ingredient-pecorino-romano-pepper

TheSpottedZebra · 23/04/2022 19:36

This reply has been deleted

This thread was deleted for Trollhunting.

powershowerforanhour · 23/04/2022 19:39

Crying out to feature on WeWantPlates imo.

SpiderVersed · 23/04/2022 19:40

I've had it in restaurants in Rome a number of times and it has never been with a parmesan 'bowl'. Also mostly pecorino.

CorsicaDreaming · 23/04/2022 19:48

Soffit · 23/04/2022 15:01

Oops CARB rather

Lol 😂

I was thinking cheese bowls? Crabs? where the actual do crabs fit into this? I've totally lost the plot...

🦀 🦀 🦀

Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 19:53

This reply has been deleted

This thread was deleted for Trollhunting.

I actually said that I would not go to Miami for it. The linked video was promoting a restaurant in Miami. That's all. What is "all pretend anyway"?

OP posts:
AiryFairy1 · 23/04/2022 20:02

@roundtable lol me too! The op’s “crab fest” typo threw me a little too Grin

It sounds a delicious dish - going to give a whirl (but probably not in a giant cheese rind!)

Original poster
Soffit · 23/04/2022 20:06

I would much rather have a crab fest tbf but that seems even less achievable than a parmesan wheel!

OP posts:
queenmeadhbh · 23/04/2022 21:06

“I actually said that I would not go to Miami for it.”

what you actually said was that you would not go all the way to Miami to have it prepared properly. It is the “properly” that everyone is pointing out is a misapprehension on your part.

JustJam4Tea · 23/04/2022 21:10

I love a Parmesan rind in a soup or stew….