CHEESE CRISPS aka FRICO
If you have shredded cheese, a non-stick saute pan, a spatula, a wooden spoon (optional) and five minutes you have a great snack option!
I was having a little fun with cocktails for World Gin Day (June 9th) and decided to deconstruct a classic gin martini for some fun. There isn't much to a gin martini so when it was torn apart and presented in a different way my plate looked a little bare and I decided I needed a little snack alongside the elements of the martini.
I wanted something salty, crisp and really quick to do so I could get my photo done and the easiest, fastest little snack I know is Parmesan Crisps. You simply throw some shredded Parmesan in a non-stick saute pan and melt it until it starts to crisp up then you pull it out, fold it into a fun shape and voila, snacks! (P.S. You can also throw some shredded cheese in piles on a silpat and bake them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 5 to 6 minutes.)
Only one problem, I didn't have any shredded Parmesan cheese! But I did have shredded cheddar and it will do the same thing - in fact most hard cheese will! And you know what's really cool? If you roll them into a cylinder you can fill them with stuff!!!!!
Here's the process, step by step, in photos:
Over a medium-high heat,
drop in the shredded cheese, let it be loose and lacy!
Let this sizzle away for about 3 minutes or until you
can see the edges start to brown and bubbles appear
on the top. You'll see a lot of fat oozing out of some
cheeses like cheddar! (Added benefit, this sweats out
some extra calories!)
Check one edge to see if it's browned enough to slip
your spatula under. If not wait a few seconds more.
When you can get the spatula under the whole crisp,
slide it under then flip and cook on the opposite side
for about another 30 seconds - 1 minute (depends on
the type of cheese you're using.)
Your cooked crisp will look somewhat like this - even
a little browner won't hurt but the more you cook them
the less mallable they are when you pull them out to
shape them, so keep that in mind.
These are going to be hot so be careful, but grab your
cheese crisp out of the pan, dab it on some paper towels
to get the extra fat off and immediately roll it
around a wooden spoon or dowel for a cylinder. For
a free form snack like the one at the top of the post,
simply scrunch it by hand into a fun shape.
You can fill the cylinder shaped crisps with any kind of
interesting stuffing that goes well with cheese! Here I
stuffed it with some chicken salad, but I can imagine
putting in potato salad, mashed potatoes with chives
and sour cream - the list is endless!
Now you have a fun shaped, crispy Cheese Crisp to
serve up for Happy Hour or as a nice crunchy element
to any soup or salad. Repeat until you have all the
crisps you want!
Check out my
DECONSTRUCTED MARTINI
which inspired these little nuggets of yum.
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