Parmesan broth is proof that one cook’s scraps are a better cook’s liquid gold. With just some basic aromatics and cheese rinds that may have otherwise been destined for the trash, you can have a bombastic base for soups, and a flavor infusion for braised vegetables, grains and beans.
Cooking with Parmesan broth is an especially welcome technique at the tail end of winter, when storage vegetables and grains beg for one last bit of culinary C.P.R. The broth can carry a mushroom and farro soup from beginning to end, with little additional seasoning required. Or it can transform everyday canned white beans into a silky puddle of savory goodness, lending deep, penetrating flavor. It can also infuse earthy vegetables, like fennel, celery or parsnips, with umami.
If you keep a crystalline wedge of Parmesan in the fridge to finish pastas or to bolster savory salads (as you should), you can make this broth. Once you’ve sliced down to the hard outer rind, do as countless nonnas and experienced chefs have always done, and stockpile your rinds in the freezer. (Alternately, ask your cheesemonger if they sell the reserved rinds alone, Whole Foods does.)
When you’ve collected five or six rinds, make your broth: The resulting brew will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and can be stored in the freezer indefinitely. It will be there when you need to gussy-up humble vegetables, legumes or grains, and don’t want to do the work of seasoning with a cocktail of herbs and spices. But if you’re not up for making a broth, you can throw a rind directly into your pasta sauce, your pot of beans or your soup, and simmer them all together for a more subtle flavor.
A word of caution: The quality of your cheese matters. Parmegiano-Reggiano yields best results, but impostors lurk on the shelves. Look for cheese that has puncture holes and the phrase “Parmigiano-Reggiano” on the rind. This means it’s been certified by a regional consortium and contains just three ingredients: local milk, salt and rennet (an enzyme derived from calf intestine, so sadly, it isn’t suitable for strict vegetarians). If imported Italian Parmegiano-Reggiano is not available in your local grocery store, you can work with what you’ve got, but you won’t reach quite the same complexity of flavor.
Recipes: Parmesan Broth | Mushroom-Farro Soup With Parmesan Broth | Braised Fennel With White Bean Purée