Tag Archives: Parmesan crisps

Cooking onboard

Parmesan crisps

4 Comments

Parmesan Diamond crisps
They’ll go as fast as you can serve them!
click to enlarge
These Parmesan Diamond crisps are so, so more-ish. Great with drinks and they’ll disappear the moment you serve them amidst many ‘wows’ of praise.

Ingredients
  • 75gm Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano to give it its correct name)
  • 75gm Grana Padano cheese
  • Optional – sesame or poppy seeds for a final dressing
Technique

The ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ of making Parmesan crisps.

  • Do use both types of cheese – Parmesan only is too strong
  • Don’t use ready grated cheese – it just doesn’t work
You’ll need

Form a 1cm deep round leaving a 5cm margin around the edge of the pan
click to enlarge
Cheese grater, dinner plate or small bowl, non-stick frying pan, kitchen paper, spatula, kitchen knife, chopping board.

Making Parmesan Diamond crisps

Grate the two cheeses onto the dinner plate. Using your fingers, gently mix them up.

Sprinkle the grated cheese onto the frying pan to form a 1cm deep round leaving a 5cm margin around the edge of the pan. Tamp it down just a bit.

Place on a low to medium heat.

After a while you’ll see the cheese start to melt, then bubble, and the edges will start turning a light brown.

If you want to flavour the crisps, add a sprinkling of the seeds at this stage.

Keep going and wait until the bubbling has almost stopped.

The cheese will start to melt, then bubble, and the edges will start turn a light brown
click to enlarge
Remove the pan from the heat and place it on a heat resistant surface.

After a minute or so, the pan will have cooled a bit but the crisp will still just be pliable. Slide a spatula around the outside of the crisp and gently prise it out of the pan.

Place it on kitchen paper for a few moments to remove any excess oils before moving it to a chopping board.

Slice it into 4cm strips and slice again, diagonally to form your Parmesan Diamond crisps.

To keep their crispness, eat them soon after making. Mind you, as quickly as you serve them they’ll go!

Perfect!

Let us know how you get on – you can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

Piers and Lin
from the Galley of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

Wait until the bubbling has almost stopped before taking the pan off the heat
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Remove from the pan and place the crisp on kitchen paper to remove excess oils
click to enlarge
Cooking onboard

From the Galley of Play d’eau

1 Comment

Play d’eau’s galley
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Hi Everyone,

After much encouragement, Lin and I have decided to add a section on ‘Cooking onboard‘.

The first recipe will be Parmesan Diamond crisps which are really simple to make and so rewarding.

Over time, we’ll share the good – what we’ve learned works really well; the bad – which encompasses the limitations of a boat’s galley and how we overcome them; and finally the ugly – dedicated to what not to do!

We also intend to add comments on any restaurants we eat at during our cruising adventures.

Have fun, and let us know how you get on.

Piers and Lin
from the Galley of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

Cooking onboard

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Rose (violet) garlic, the best of all garlics,
at Paimpol’s farmers’ market, Brittany
click to enlarge
Eating out appears to be the choice of many boaters rather than cooking onboard. Whilst away, it’s a holiday in itself not to have to cook but we sometimes we come away disappointed with the fare we’ve been served.

Despite the ‘effort’ involved, preparing an exciting meal onboard, full of mouthwatering flavours can be such fun and so rewarding.

I mean, after you’ve moored up and decide to go exploring on foot, search out the world of the local farmers’ markets and supermarkets and explore their great produce. In France especially, you are spoilt for choice with seafood galore, vegetables, cheeses, speciality vinegars, wines, breads – just smell the aromas. Is your mouth watering yet?

Making it fun to cook onboard

Over the years, Lin and I have developed some specific solutions to cooking onboard and making great food. So we’ve decided to share this by adding Cooking posts to get you going.

We’ll start soon by adding posts under a new ‘Cooking’ category on quick and easy ‘wow’ goodies such as Parmesan cheese crisps before becoming more adventurous. We’ll also be adding ‘food goodies’ when we come across good sources at the various ports we visit and, when we want a break and really don’t want to cook, we’ll add comments about the restaurants we visit and recommend – or otherwise.

Cherries, peaches, melons….
whatever you want at one of the many fruit stalls
click to enlarge
So, if you use any of our ideas and find you like your initial creations, do keep going. Much is about simple technique and preparation with nothing too complicated or time consuming.

Keep going!

As I’ve said, we’ll start with simple ‘nibbles’ which go really well with early evening drinks. If they work for you, you can then decide to start climbing the ladder with our starters, main courses and finally, desserts.

Our experience is that there’s nothing like sharing an on-board prepared meal with newly found boating friends from neighbouring berths.

Wine, conversation and laughter all flow amidst the high praise the chef receives.

Best of Breed ingredients

We will keep our Best of Breed ingredients page updated as and when we find worthy and outstanding products.

Something to share?

If you’ve found a recipe that works for you onboard, please send it to us and we’ll publish it for you. Whether it’s simple or complex, let’s get cooking!

Inspiration

We’re often asked where our inspiration for cooking comes from. Lin’s been cooking brilliantly for many years, but for Piers, it wasn’t until he attended a five day course at the Ashburton Cookery School accompanied by Kim Hollamby, that his love of cooking took off.

So, to whom do our thanks go?

Piers and Lin
from the Galley of
Play d’eau
Fleming 55

You can get in touch with us any time by using our Contact Form.

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