Pecorino and Fontina Cheeses

[rhinefire]

I was watching a show this morning on making eggplant parmigiana and pecorino cheese was used on the layers of eggplant fontina cheese used to top off the eggplant stacks. I have always used mozzarella. Has anyone used the two cheeses in the title? The chef said it was the best eggplant parmigiana he has ever tasted. Now I have to try it,

 

[aociswundumho]

Pecorino is too salty for me.

Fontina has some flavor and melts great, which is why I almost always substitute it for mozz.

 

[Jessie C]

Fontina and mozz are both fine, but I have a lot of Italians in my family, and they will tell you you aren't a real Italian if you don't include pecorino and parmesan romano Love them all.

 

[weaver2]

I was watching a show this morning on making eggplant parmigiana and pecorino cheese was used on the layers of eggplant fontina cheese used to top off the eggplant stacks. I have always used mozzarella. Has anyone used the two cheeses in the title? The chef said it was the best eggplant parmigiana he has ever tasted. Now I have to try it,

The light, mild taste of the mozzarella is a nice contrast to the intensity of the other parts of the dish. Fontina has deeper more pronounced flavor that makes the dish too cheese intensive and heavy tasting for me. But as with all cooking: if it tastes good to you then it's good.

 

[SenorXm/Sirius]

Fresh Mozzarella is fabulous.. The best.. pecorino is good too..

 

[Lursa]

I was watching a show this morning on making eggplant parmigiana and pecorino cheese was used on the layers of eggplant fontina cheese used to top off the eggplant stacks. I have always used mozzarella. Has anyone used the two cheeses in the title? The chef said it was the best eggplant parmigiana he has ever tasted. Now I have to try it,

Fontina is mild but very meltable. Pecorino can vary but is sharper and saltier and doesnt really melt well but works well finely grated. They make for a good combo.

 

[Chomsky]

I was watching a show this morning on making eggplant parmigiana and pecorino cheese was used on the layers of eggplant fontina cheese used to top off the eggplant stacks. I have always used mozzarella. Has anyone used the two cheeses in the title? The chef said it was the best eggplant parmigiana he has ever tasted. Now I have to try it,

Pecorino is a hard "grating" cheese, similar to it's partner in crime - Parmesan. It is a flavoring ingredient, not a "body" cheese. It's use as you described would impart a rich flavor to the dish, that would elicit "Italian flavor".

I've less experience with Fontina, which is a mild soft cheese similar to Mozzarella but perhaps a bit former and/or a bit more flavorful.

In my family's cooking, with it's roots back on the Peninsula, Mozzarella by itself is never used. It's more of a binding & bulking agent, too mild in flavor. What we do when using Mozzarella, is we mix it around 1/2-and-1/2 with Scamorza! It seems to be a Calabrese' thing.

Scamorza is similar to Mozzarella, but it is richer and fuller, perhaps a hair drier/firmer, and comes in regular & smoked varieties. I highly recommend blending some in with your Mozzarella, the next time you have a recipe calling for Mozzarella.

Scamorza:

*credit Calabrian pork store

Reference:

Scamorza - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Chomsky]

Fontina and mozz are both fine, but I have a lot of Italians in my family, and they will tell you you aren't a real Italian if you don't include pecorino and parmesan romano Love them all.

I very much agree with this. Added "grating" cheeses like Percorino & Parmesan just make the dish scream-out - "Italian!"

If you've got any Sicilians in your family (we're intermarried), ask them about "Incanestrato".

(sometimes it's spelled without the first "I", and sometimes there's no first "N" either)

Incanestrato is like common Pecorino or Parmesan on steroids! It's a grating cheese. It's more pungent & rich than Parmesan or Percorino, with some added tangy bitterness to it. It's absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it if you want to go to the next level over the two aforementioned grating cheeses.

The thing with Inconestrato is it's unknown outside of Sicilian circles. I get mine at local Sicilian delis, fortunate to be in a city with a lot of Sicilians and therefore a lot of Sicilian delis!

Inconestrato:

*image credit musco food

 

[bongsaway]

Fontina and mozz are both fine, but I have a lot of Italians in my family, and they will tell you you aren't a real Italian if you don't include pecorino and parmesan romano Love them all.

Locatelli?