Paul and I love these chips and I recently brought these to a party. They were well received so I thought I’d share the recipe with you. If you are a cheese lover, and in particular a parmesan cheese lover, these easy chips are for you. They’re also called frico, which is more exotic sounding, yes?
I originally got the recipe in a magazine several years ago but changed the recipe just a bit, for a bit more flavor. They are great little appetizers; you can scoop a little something on them or just eat them plain. Just remember, they’re brittle, so be careful with the scooping. You don’t have to buy super expensive cheese either, but be sure to use one you enjoy. Mixing the cheese with flour keeps oil from separating out, which would be awful. Really.
1 three oz. piece Parmigiano Reggiano or other hard aged cheese like asiago
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
few shakes cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grate the cheese with either a box grater on the side with the biggest holes, or use your food processor with the disc with the biggest cheese shredding holes. Mix in the flour and cayenne pepper.
If you have a half sheet pan with a Silpat, I recommend using that for baking your frico. You can also use a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You don’t want those little crisps to have anything to stick to!
Use a tablespoon to scoop up a level serving and place it on the pan. Flatten out and even up the little stray shreds to bring them back into the circle. Repeat, leaving room for them to spread a bit. Keep stirring the cheese etc. to keep flour mixed in. You should get about a dozen. You can double the recipe, no problem.
Bake for 10 minutes. Cool a little then place on a wire rack to cool completely. (You can also form them over a dowel or rolling pin if you want to attain a scoopy shape.) Then serve and impress your friends.
