I grew up in a humble family in what you would consider until a few decades ago a rural area of Italy. Food was always at the centre of our social life; every family occasion was celebrated around a meal and, because of this, we developed a great deal of respect for the products that were put in front of us. We knew that to produce those ingredients it took effort and for our family to buy them it took sacrifices. These are the main reason why in our culture the art of stretching every ingredient to the maximum of its capability is well rooted. You’ll be amazed by how much flavour you can squeeze out of an ingredient, if you look deep enough to uncover all its potential.
To throw away cheese rind in my household would cause a discussion! There is so much you can do with it, from creating puffed crostini to cook it slowly on a grill, the uses of this overlooked part of the cheese are endless. The easiest and oldest way to use it, must be to simply chuck it into soups, stocks and sauces. It will add an extra layer of flavour to your preparation. Of course, scrape it well and rinse before using.
Chef’s tip
In this recipe, you can actually chop the cooked rind into little cubes to resemble little pasta squares and then put them back into the soup. How great is that!