Parmesan Cups with Orzo Risotto
- 2 cups good-quality chicken or other stock
- 1 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 1/4 pound)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bring the stock to a boil in a 6- to 8-cup saucepan; stir in the orzo, cover, and turn the heat to medium-low.
- Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- Use a 1/4-cup measure to make 4 rounds of Parmigiano-Reggiano on a nonstick baking sheet.
- Smooth the rounds into thin pancakes, 5 or 6 inches across; the thickness need not be perfectly uniform.
- Put the baking sheet in the oven.
- The Parmigiano-Reggiano rounds are done when the centers darken slightly and the edges begin to brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it stand for about a minute, then carefully lift each of the rounds and drape it over the bottom of a narrow cup or glass to form a cup shape.
- Let dry for about 5 minutes.
- The orzo is done when it is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Season it with pepper and very little salt, then stir in the parsley.
- Spoon a portion of orzo into each of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cups and serve.
- Cheese cups can be made with almost any hard cheese or a combination of cheeses.
- Manchego, pecorino, and other sheeps milk cheeses are especially good.
- For fillings, try:
- Steamed and chopped spinach (other than a grating of pepper, no seasoning is necessary)
- Beef stew or other stewed meat
- Ratatouille or other stewed vegetables
- Be careful not to grate the cheese too finely; you dont want the same powdery consistency you might prefer on pasta.
- One of the larger holes of a box grater works well, and so does the steel blade of the food processor, which produces small, even pellets of cheese.
- Baking the cheese disks doesnt present much of a problem, and its easy enough to tell when theyre done because the edges begin to brown.
- But removing them from the baking sheet can be tricky: be sure to allow the rounds to cool slightly so that they can firm up a bitthirty to sixty seconds is right for me, but if your baking sheet retains more heat, it might take a little longerand then use the thinnest spatula you have to gently lift them off the baking sheet.
- Drape the soft mass over a narrow glass, and shape gently; the cups will be ready to fill in a few minutes.
- Though they are best when fresh, the cups will retain both shape and flavor for a couple of hours.
chicken, orzo, cheese, salt, parsley
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/parmesan-cups-with-orzo-risotto-386782 (may not work)