Parmigiano Reggiano... Chocolates

2018-02-12 Today we’ll be making an unusual dessert created by Chef Mario Grazia. It combines two apparently incompatible ingredients, dark chocolate and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, turning them into firm “friends”. The recipe brings out the very best of both foods, with deliciously intense results. It’s really worth a try.

Here are the ingredients for 25 Parmigiano Reggiano&hellip Chocolates:
• 100 ml cream;
• 20 g glucose syrup;
• 100 g di dark chocolate;
• 40 g Parmigiano Reggiano;
• 25 round chocolate shells for filling;
• 150 g dark chocolate (for the decoration).

The recipe is fairly difficult, but it’s well worth the effort… It takes 45 minutes to make plus 12 hours resting time.

Here’s how to make our Parmigiano Reggiano Chocolates:
• Bring the cream and glucose to the boil in a saucepan.
• Remove from the heat and add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Blend thoroughly using a stick blender, then add the finely chopped chocolate. Mix in carefully to make a smooth, velvety cream.
• Let the mixture cool down, then fill the round chocolate shells using a piping bag.
• Leave the chocolates to crystallise in a cool place (but not in the fridge) for around 12 hours.
• Once the filling has crystallised, fill in the hole in the balls with melted chocolate and leave them to set.
• Temper the chocolate: melt it in a bain-marie or in the microwave at around 45-50 °C (use a cooking thermometer), then pour around a third to a half onto a marble slab. Leave it to cool, spreading it backwards and forwards until it reaches around 26-27 °C; at this point, add it to the remaining warm chocolate mixture. When it reaches 31-32 °C, it’s ready to use.
• Coat the chocolates with the tempered chocolate and leave them to set.
• Decorate the chocolates as preferred.

Mariagrazia Villa

Recipe: Chef Mario Grazia (Academia Barilla).
Source: Academia Barilla (ed.), Parmigiano Reggiano. 50 Ricette Facili, Edizioni White Star, Novara, 2012.