Parmesan Crisps with Mango Salsa

There are way too many good food blogs out there and I just can’t keep up anymore! I follow some of them pretty regularly as they appeal to me for various reasons. Cynthia’s lovely blog, Tastes Like Home, is one of the blogs I like to frequent. Her writing, her recipes and her photos always make me go back for more. Her blog truly is a visual delight and her warm personality comes through in every post that she writes. I had never actually cooked from her blog, so when Zlamushka announced the Tried and Tasted event earlier this month and decided to kick things off by showcasing Cynthia’s blog, I was only too happy to participate. I dug deep into her archives and found just the thing I was looking for- a dead simple recipe that called for only 2 ingredients- cheese and pepper.

Here is the original post.

This is how I did it.

Ingredients:
(For about 12 crisps)
10 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (obtained by grating about half a 5 oz. wedge of cheese)
¼ - ½ tsp pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grate a small wedge of parmesan cheese using a box grater into a bowl. Add pepper. Mix.

Place about a tablespoon of the grated cheese onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet (I used a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil) and lightly pat down with the back of a spoon. Repeat with the remaining cheese, spacing the spoonfuls about a 1/2 inch apart.

Bake for 3-5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Carefully peel crisps from foil.

Cool. Serve with mango salsa.

The crisps can be used as an appetizer with a dip, on top of salads or even in a soup instead of croutons.

Notes:
I also tried making Parmesan cups. I had seen Giada make these on one of her shows a few months back.
I spooned the cheese onto the baking sheet and pressed down gently to flatten out the mound. I baked it for a minute or two till the cheese melted and started to bubble. This was quickly removed from the oven and transferred (this has to be done very fast or else the cheese starts to harden and molding it becomes impossible) to a mini muffin pan and molded into the shape of a cup by gently pressing down with fingertips, also using a small spoon for help. This was then cooled until it hardened. I made a few cups like this.

I had prepared a chickpea salad yesterday which we had in these cute little Parmesan cups.

For the mango salsa:
1 mango, peeled and finely diced
½ small onion, finely chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Scallions (I only used the green part)
1 tsp Sambal oelek
Lemon juice
Salt to taste

In a bowl, combine everything. Serve chilled with parmesan crisps or spoon into cups.


The above picture would be a good fit for Click: Cheese. Thank you for the idea, Purplesque!

I've also served the salsa in phyllo cups. Just as good! Here's a picture...