Cheese,  European Cheese,  Italy,  Travel

Romano Wasn’t Built in a Day

I was looking forward to a quiet evening in with a bootleg copy of Behind the Candelabra and a cheeky glass of Malbec.

Hopes were ashed by a friend, who upon hearing of said glittering bootleg, invited themselves over. Not one to order in, I decided to kill two well dressed birds with one stone and use the hunk of Romano I had in the fridge.

Now combining seafood with cheese is controversial. Once in a restaurant in Sydney which shall remain nameless, the waiter refused to give me parmesan for my seafood linguine as “That’s NOT right”.

Well, my taste buds maybe wired differently. I had planned a simple risotto from a Barefoot Contessa but I also had some prawns in the fridge wich needed to be used.

I only added a touch of Pecorino Romano at the end and on top of mine…

Romano Holiday
Romano Holiday

Pecorino Romano is a hard, salty Italian cheese, often used for grating, made out of sheep milk (the Italian word pecora, from which the name derives, means sheep). Pecorino Romano was produced in Latium up to 1884 when, due to the prohibition issued by the city council of salting the cheese inside their shops in Rome, many producers moved to the island of Sardinia.It is produced exclusively from the milk of sheep raised on the plains of Lazio and in Sardinia.

They say an army marches on its stomach. Pecorino Romano was a staple in the diet for the legionaries of ancient Rome. Today, it is still made according to the original recipe and is one of Italy’s oldest cheeses.

Italian Affair
Italian Affair

Pecorino Romano is most often used on pasta dishes, like the better-known Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan). Its distinctive aromatic, pleasantly sharp, very salty flavour means that in Italian cuisine, it is preferred for some pasta dishes with highly-flavoured sauces.This worked well for me today as I hadn’t added anything other than garlic, olive oil and seasoning. I say “whatever” to those who say cheese and seafood don’t mix (lobster mornay anyone?

Simply divine
Simply divine

On that note, I must adjourn to eat, drink and listen to the tinkling ivories. Here is a sample of what you are missing…

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