The cheese cream is a versatile condiment, easy to make at home, that can be used to season or enrich many dishes. The basic preparation is the one to make a homemade béchamel, to which cheese (Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Toscano DOP) is added for flavor.
If you like sauces and condiments, don’t forget to read the recipe
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 301.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 17.60 (g) of which sugars 7.65 (g)
- Proteins 9.87 (g)
- Fat 21.78 (g) of which saturated 13.63 (g)of which unsaturated 7.33 (g)
- Fibers 0.48 (g)
- Sodium 923.28 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 2 people
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1.75 oz cheese (aged)
- to taste salt
- to taste nutmeg
Tools
- 1 Pot 1-liter
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Grater
Method
The beauty of cheese cream is that you can decide which cheese to use to flavor it, you can use the classic Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Toscano, or opt for melting, tasty, or creamy cheeses like gorgonzola. For cheese lovers, you can also make a four-cheese sauce with Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, mozzarella, and Emmental.
First, place the butter in a pan and melt over moderate heat. If you dislike butter, you can replace it with sunflower oil or extra virgin olive oil (1 tbsp).
When the butter is completely melted, add the flour.
The amount of flour is small, so there’s no need to sift it; just mix it well with the spoon to allow it to toast.
The heat should be medium-high, and the flour should cook for 4-5 minutes to toast and turn light brown. Be careful not to overcook it, or the béchamel will have a dark brown color instead of the classic intense white.
After 5 minutes, when the flour is toasted, add the milk at room temperature little by little. Mix well with the whisk or spoon so that no lumps form.
Adding the milk gradually also allows you to adjust the cream’s density according to your taste.
Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, remove from the heat, and add the cheese or cheeses you have chosen. To mix them better and obtain a velvety cream, I suggest grating hard cheeses and cutting the others into small cubes.
Gently mix the mixture and adjust the salt if necessary.
Your cheese cream is ready!
Plating Advice:
I place the cheese cream in spoonfuls onto the serving dish. For some dishes, I usually put a couple of spoonfuls at the base of the plate and the dish on top. For meat and chicken dishes, you can place the cream over the dish. The cream is also excellent for dipping fries, fried cheese sticks, or seasoning pan-fried polenta croutons.
Wine Pairing with Cheese Cream:
I recommend pairing the cream with a full-bodied red wine; the wine can vary according to the cheese used and the final dish in which the cream is served. A Cannonau pairs well with most aged hard cheeses.
